The Golden Eyed Swordsman
by TheRoman987
Summary: After the war against the Titans, the demigods had peace, and so did Percy, but as his world is rocked by death and betrayal, he runs away. To die? To get his emotions back? To help others? Post-PJO, Pre-HOO Guardian story how I think it should be. A few OC's, several changes to the Guardian plot line, might include some HOO characters and plot in the future, depends on reviews.
1. Chapter 1- Setting the Stage

AN: First fanfic, before accusing me of copying someone, know I have probably not read that story. If I have borrowed an idea from someone, I will put who and what at the bottom. If you're gonna hate, do something useful instead, like getting a better brain.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HOO, I only own the OC's I create.

Chapter 1:

The gods thundered into the throne room in full battle regalia, expecting a throw-down with the Titan Lord, but instead saw a green-eyed, black haired demigod, standing over the broken body of Luke Castellan, Annabeth's dagger in Luke's hand.

"We need a shroud. A shroud for the son of Hermes."

Percy's voice cracked as he spoke, betraying the sadness he felt.

Artemis POV

I ignored most of the reward ceremony, and when they got to Percy, I was preparing to make him into a god.

"No." Percy said.

A dozen thoughts whirled through my head, and Zeus looked so thunderstruck (oh, the irony) that I almost laughed.

"No ? You are...turning _down _our generous gift?"

"I feel honored and everything. Don't get me wrong. It's just...I've got a lot of life left to live. I'd hate to peak in my sophomore year."

I understood him completely. Hell, thats why I let hunters age a little before becoming immortal. My attention was jerked back when he said,

"I do want a gift, though. Do you promise to grant my wish?"

"If it is within our power."

"It is. And it's not even that difficult. But I need you to promise on the River Styx."

"What? You don't trust us?" Dionysus said incredulously.

"Someone once told me you should always get a solemn oath." I immediately guessed Hades.

Hades shrugged. "Guilty."

"Very well! In the name of the Council, we swear by the River Styx to grant your _reasonable_ request as long as it is within our power." By now the suspense was killing me, and I could hear thunder boom.

"From know on, I want you to properly recognize the children of the gods. All the children . . . of _all_ the gods."

At this, I smirked at Apollo, who was turning as white as his teeth. Seriously, he had more children then Aphrodite.

"Percy, what exactly do you mean?" Zeus asked carefully.

"Kronos couldn't have risen if it hadn't been for a lot of demigods who felt abandoned by their parents. They felt angry, resentful, and unloved, and they had a good reason.

I watched the gods argue back and forth with each other and Percy, and was moderately surprised when they granted his request. I didn't really care, I had no children, of course.

"All hail, Perseus Jackson. Hero of Olympus . . . and my big brother!" Tyson said, or rather, bellowed.

Line Break

Percy POV

When Annabeth and I were in the elevator, my mind was sucked somewhere else, like I was in a dream.

I saw Greeks fighting . . . Trojans? I turn around and saw two of my least favorite people, or gods: Phobos and Deimos

"Why are you two pricks here? And is this really the Trojan War?" I asked, anger turning my voice hard.

"Relax, punk," said Phobos "we are here because the Trojan War created so much fear, so much terror, that we are our strongest here."

"Let me rephrase the question: _Why _the _hell _am _I here._" I said, getting more annoyed by the second.

"We owe you a gift, as the Titan War made us very powerful, punk." said Deimos, looking disdainfully at me. "We're gonna give you our blessing, so you can cause fear, and see a person fears, just by wishing.

"Just a tip," Phobos said, "fear is for individuals, terror is for crowds, and you can shield yourself from other's, and your own, fears."

They blasted me with powerful red light and I felt the power.

I was sent back to my body when the elevator dinged as it reached the first floor. Annabeth and I walked out, hand and hand, to a smiling Mom and Paul.

Meanwhile, on Olympus, the party was in full swing.

Line Break

Artemis POV

After a few hours of sitting in a corner, occasionally amusing myself by turning those annoying males into jackalopes, I flashed back to the hunters. I felt that celebrating with my hunters was _way_ better than on Olympus, and I needed to mourn for my dead Hunters. They are each my priestesses, my worshipers, and I felt the loss of power from each of them.

As I approach the camp, I questioned Thalia, "How many?"

"Not good," she replied, "at least twenty dead, and our wolves and falcons have been decimated."

"Who?"

"Tara and Tera, Scarlett, Kerry-" She broke off as her voice cracked, "I'm sorry, I can't do this, just see whose left."

I could hear the grief in her voice. The twins, Tara and Tera, were two of her closest friends in the hunt, her true sisters.

"Just get some sleep," I commanded, "we will all grieve together in the morning."

The night passed too quickly, me only getting fitful snatches of sleep. When the morning came, I woke the hunters and gathered them in a clearing in Central Park.

"In memory of our fallen sisters, we will erect a cairn, as large as possible, to commemorate their sacrifice." I said. They all nodded, and began to collect stones. I found twenty large-ish, flat stones, and using my silver fire, burned the names of all the fallen hunters in them.

Tara- Daughter of Richard Brook

Tera- Daughter of Richard Brook

Christy- Daughter of John Keats

Kerry- Daughter of Morpheus

Alaltun- Daughter of Temjuin

Scarlett- Daughter of Hebe

China- Daughter of Marcus Sorrows

Tullia- Daughter of Marcus Tullius Cicero

Theo- Daughter of Apollo

Kim- Daughter of Iris

Theia- Daughter of Hecate

Clodia- Daughter of Publius Claudius Pulcher

Alex- Daughter of Ares

Andrea-Daughter of Ares

Melbourne- Daughter of Marilyn Jones

Dani- Daughter of Aphrodite

Wilkes- Daughter of Steven Berkly

Sylvia- Daughter of Nemesis

Cleo- Daughter of Athena

Virginia- Daughter of Eleanor Dare

I brought them back and laid them on top of the considerable stack of rocks my hunters collected. I then, to make sure they were remembered, lit a fire that would burn forever on top of the completed cairn.

After that, there was nothing to do but grieve and try to comfort one another.

Line Break

Percy POV

When I woke up, I felt good, scratch that, I felt ecstatic. I had finally kissed Annabeth, and although she looked nervous, and a little afraid, for the moment, everything was perfect. I was so happy, I had to stop myself from skipping down to the pavilion with a whistle on my lips.

I made my sacrifices to Poseidon, but threw in a little for Phobos and Deimos, because I was happy, and hey, maybe they aren't such big jerks after all. After breakfast, I took a "refreshing" swim in the canoe lake, and was about to emerge when I heard excited whispering.

"He's so hot . . ."

"Totally, right?"

"Like, Narcissus hot."

I looked around and saw a few nymphs looking at me and giggling.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" said Nymph 1.

"Can I marry you?" asked Nymph 2.

"I love you forever." shouted Nymph 3.

"I'm sorry ladies, but I already have Annabeth." I said, searching for a way to get out of here.

"But she doesn't . . ." Nymph 3 started.

"Shut up! He doesn't know yet." Nymph 1 hissed.

I froze and said "I don't know what?"

"Nothing!"

"Not a thing!"

"You know everything!"

I sighed and walked off to the sword training area. Nothing is a better workout then tearing apart a few dozen dummies.

Line Break

Annabeth's POV

I watched him start slicing through the dummies like his life depended on it, and looked on with a mixture of awe and fear. There was a cloud of straw around him as he disembowel the dummies. What if he knew? The nymphs near the lake were talking about it earlier, and they aren't good at keeping their mouth shut...

With around ten dummies left, he sheathed Riptide and started tearing them apart with his bear hands. He might kill me if he knew... Then in a display of massive strength, he lifted the second-to-last one, and as if wielding a massive hammer, smashed the last one with it. I was almost too preoccupied with my thoughts to notice the conch horn call for dinner.

Line Break

Percy's POV

Dinner was normal, extra lean barbecue, with corn and coleslaw, I approached the brazier, and pushed in a third of my food to Poseidon.

"Thank you for being a good father to me."

The air was humming with excitement, there was a Capture the Flag match now, after all. Chiron stomped his hoof against the stone and announced the teams. Blue Team: Poseidon, Hermes, Hephaestus, Apollo and a few minor god's cabins against Read Team : Everybody else.

Good News: We had the best trappers.

Bad News: We were outnumbered about two to one, with no "god of war" cabins.

As captain, I decided our strategy: leave the flag heavily trapped and high up, but with no guards. Then call a banzai charge against whatever defenses they had. The campers formed an arrowhead, with me at the front, Connor and Travis Stoll on either side of me.

"Their here!"

I turned to see the Ares and Athena cabins in a perfect phalanx, pushing towards us.

I did the most natural thing.

"Charge!" I shouted, running at the phalanx, leading a stampede. Once we reached them, I swung my sword to knock as many spear points out of the way as possible, creating a hole in the phalanx. I cut one guy in the shoulder, while using my shield to hit another camper, a girl from Athena, over the head, knocking her out cold. The other guy was back again, and after dodging his thrust, I picked him up and tossed him at one of his buddies. Then the electric spear hit me.

Clarisse had her _third_ electric spear in her hands, catching me in the side with the shaft of the spear. Did she buy them in bulk or something?

Both the allies and enemies formed a circle to watch us fight. I readied Riptide as Clarisse started twirling her spear. I started by dodging is close, where the spear would be less effective. I slashed at her chest, she responded by blocking it, then punching me right on the nose, throwing me backwards.

"What's the matter, Prissy? Giving up already?"

"Not in your wildest dreams, Clary" I said back, taking my shield off my arms.

Clarisse suddenly had to dodge as I threw Riptide at her. Then again as I ran forward, swinging the shield, rim first, in a completely unorthodox style, at her. It caught her spear and threw it off to one side. Now it was an offensive shield vs a defensive shield. I pulled her shield the side, ramming he chest with the rim of the shield, then dancing backwards as she tried, and failed, to punch me.

"Are you sure _you _don't want to surrender, Clary?"

She roared and charged me, using her shield as a massive battering ram. She seemed a bit surprised when she rammed into a tree, one right behind me. I held my shield to her throat, and said,

"Yield?"

"Yes..." she grumbled, annoyed at losing.

We might have won at that point if the other teams attacking force returned and flanked us. Now we were surrounded.

"Travis, Conner! Grab the flag! I'll distract them!" I yelled, and charged the mob of enemies, slashing, stabbing, and bludgeoning like a whirlwind. In this time, Travis was able to sneak up to the flag, and steal it. Now we had a few dozen angry campers charging after our small retreating force.

"Everyone non-Travis! Form a wall!"

The enemy campers were shocked when our lines held, and I used the opportunity to hit one with the flat of my blade, and another with my shield. Two down, dozens to go. But thankfully not, as a panting, sweating Travis splashed across the river.

"Blue Team wins!"

Chiron trotted up, and we immediately started bragging about our exploits in previous games. We also had to restrain a red-faced Clarisse from "accidentally" hitting me with her spear, called Lamer than Ever Before, after her old spear, Lamer.

Eventually, I got to Annabeth. And kissed her, of course.

"Good game, Annabeth." I said.

"How did you get so many campers while still guarding the flag?"

"I didn't, the flag had no guards, it was wide open."

"What? We had twice as many campers than you, and you left _no one _to guard the flag?"

"Divide and conquer, right? My whole plan was yelling "Charge!"

"I always underestimate how reckless you are."

We started walking and talking back to the cabins while holding hands.

"Percy, why did we stop walking?" complained Annabeth.

"This is my cabin. I'm pretty sure this is where I sleep, unless you want me to sleep with you already?" I said, smirking at her blushed face.

"Oh...ah...um...right." Annabeth stuttered, her face still flushed.

"Well, run along now, although I'm sure you want to sleep with me here." I teased her, laughing as her face turned even redder than before, but I also saw a flash of fear in her eyes, so quick I discounted it.

Annabeth's POV

As I stomped back to the Athena cabin, is was torn between loving him and hating him for annoying me so much. As much as I hope we'll get to the sleeping phase yet, to my mind, it was gross. My analytical brain kept saying "You're cousins! This is gross!" The debate was still going on in my head after I fell into bed, remembering the other complications Aphrodite had thrown in my love life.

AN: I have borrowed the Guardian idea from so many authors, I don't think anybody cares.


	2. Chapter 2- Betrayal

AN: Thanks to reviewers, readers and favorites. I always welcome non-hater reviews. The reason Percy leaves will be odd, and some of you will hunt me down and kill me.

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of.

Chapter 2 - Betrayal

Annabeth's POV

As I stomped back to the Athena cabin, is was torn between loving him and hating him for annoying me so much. As much as I hope we'll get to the sleeping phase yet, to my mind, it was gross. My analytical brain kept saying "You're cousins! This is gross!" The debate was still going on in my head after I fell into bed, remembering the other complications Aphrodite had thrown in my love life.

First was Luke Castellan, a man who I loved for years, turned evil, then tried to kill me and my current boyfriend, made Percy fight in an arena, made Daedalus kill himself, killed Beckondorf, Pollux, and countless other assorted demigods, satyrs, and nymphs.

Then Connor Stoll, who I had a crush on, that was spoiled by a bed full of spiders, then a plate full of them the next day. I discovered he looked a lot less attractive with spiders on his face and in his hair. In my opinion, worse then Luke.

Now Percy Jackson, who was annoying, endearing, and completely reckless/brave. As much as I tried to dislike him, he grew on me like an annoying puppy with sea-green eyes. Then he almost dies dozens of times, I actually think he dies several times. We finally kiss, then get dumped in a lake. Not very romantic.

If my brain could look sad, it would right now, as I fell asleep before I got to my real problem. . .

Line Break

Percy's POV

When morning came, I was still so charged with the euphoria of kissing Annabeth last night that I was smiling through breakfast. I scraped the usual third of my food into the fire for Poseidon, then wolfed down my muffin, orange juice, and egg. Time for the rock/fire/lava wall.

As usual these days I could always climb to the top, so I challenged Grover to a race to the top.

"3 . . . . . 2 . . . . . 1 . . . . Go!" the campers called.

I started running up it like the Three Fates themselves were after me. It was all: Rock here! Lava falling! Geyser! Another rock! Dodge! Duck! For a while it looked like I might win, but Grover was a mountain goat, or Satyr, and beat me to the top soundly.

"Good race, Percy." he said as I reached the top, and prepared to go back down.

"Darn it, G-man, that makes it 8-0 in your favor. One of these days. . ." I called as I jumped off the side, using the water in the lake to catch me and set me down.

After that, I had Canoing, lunch, then Archery "Practice", more like failing.

Annabeth's POV

Today started off normally, but got steadily weirder and worse after the Ares camper cornered me near the stables.

"Listen Annabeth, I only want to talk." he said. What was his name? Like Horace or something?

"Horace, you can talk without following me out here, then cornering me." I snapped, my annoyance getting to me.

"It's about Percy." Well, that shut me up quick.

"This is something that Percy would never want you see, it has all his glaringly big mistakes over the years." he said.

"Why me?" I asked.

"Years ago, I was one of the Ares campers he fought in the river. He just walks in, gets favor, power, a quest, and now he's the alpha hero or something. This is stuff he doesn't want, it shows how he isn't a hero, what he has done in the war." he said, holding out a large box. My inquisitive nature made me take it, and he left after that.

I looked inside of it, and saw the perfect reasons to break up with him.

Line Break

Percy's POV

Archery sucked as usual, me managing to lodge several arrows in the Big House, which was several hundred feet _behind _me. Now I was walking through the woods, using me fear power to see what ants, birds and the occasional monster was afraid of. To my amusement, most of the time, it was me.

"Percy?" I heard someone say behind me. I spun around, but forgot to stop seeing fears, and I looked into the eyes of Annabeth.

What I saw shocked my. She loved me, a while ago, in fact until the labyrinth quest. I also saw who she loved, and that she was afraid that I would see that she loved non other than Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis, the one who finished assembling Kronos. She was most afraid that I would find out, and punish her. My face must face betrayed my feelings, because I heard,

"Percy, what's wrong?"

"You haven't loved me for over a year." I murmured, still shocked at the betrayal, and how she unwittingly told Ethan where my Achilles spot was.

"What are you talking about? Of course I love you, I'm you're girlfriend, after all." She said, but I could hear the note of panic in her voice.

"In the labyrinth, you fell for Ethan Nakamura, and thats why you couldn't hold him off when we were fighting Kronos on Olympus, you visited him, and you think you accidentally told him where my Achilles spot was. Why?" My face was red with rage, and my voice was cold and broken.

"I didn't want to hurt you! I still . . ." she desperately said before I cut her off.

"Like me? No you don't. If you cared, you would have told me." I snapped and literally stormed back to my cabin, me powers causing it to rain around me. The betrayal I felt was beyond words, my heart was ripped in half. On my bunk inside, I cried and cried until I fell asleep, exhausted.

Line Break

Annabeth's POV

As I watched him storm off, I thought: I might as well say he dumped me, and release all the stuff that Ares camper, Horace, gave me. I made a dozen copies on my Daedalus computer, then sent a copy to everyone in camp who had a computer or phone. If my world is crumbling, I might as well destroy his for being such a jerk.

Line Break

"Percy! Get your ass out the door right now!" I woke up to hear Clarisse, and most of the other counselors shouting at me. I got out of bed, walked over with red rimmed eyes, and opened the door to see exactly who I heard. Clarisse, Travis, Connor, Jake, Will, Castor, Malcolm, Katie, and Drew, some of my closest friends, the other consulars.

"What?" I said bleary.

"What? You ask _what_? You dumped Annabeth yesterday, and now we learn the things you have hidden? After that, you ask us _what_!" Clarisse yelled so loud, I thought my eardrums. But when what she said registered, an indignant look spread over my face, and I instantly woke up. What did I hide in the war?

"I didn't dump Annabeth, she was cheating on me for over a year now! If anything she dumped me!" I yelled backwards

"Yeah, sure Jackson, your just saying that. Annabeth would never cheat on anybody." Jake, the Hephaestus consular yelled back."

" I swear on the River Styx that over a year ago, after she fraking_ kissed _me, she cheated on me with Ethan Nakamura, and told him my Achilles spot." I said, glaring at my former friends, who now were looking more shocked than angry.

"That still doesn't excuse you for when you killed three mostly innocent Empousai that were trying to live without killing people! You just killed them without listening!" It was Will, another person who I thought was a friend.

"I didn't need to talk to them. Do you know what you probably didn't see? A bloody corpse that the Empousai were snacking on. Killing an innocent mortal is as bad as killing one of us! Where did you find that anyways?" Most of the campers were surprised at the sheer volume at which I shouted.

"Erm . . . from Annabeth." Katie, daughter of Demeter, muttered.

"Since you have so little faith in me, I'm leaving this shit-hole." I shouted still angry, and after I grabbed the Minotaur horn, some clothes, drachmas, and food. I ran out, my emotions a mess.

"If you were truly my friends, you should know me too well to believe this." I called over my shoulder, leaving them shocked as I just walked away from my home for the past four years.

Line Break

Percy's POV

After four years, they still believe that bitch without a second thought. Without a hesitation, me former friends turned on me, and now I had no friends left. I was completely alone. Out of the camp borders, I saw the first monsters, a trio of Cyclopes, clubs in hand, but no armor. I dodged the first club and deflected the second, but the third caught me square in the chest, sending me flying. If I hadn't had the Curse of Achilles, I would be dead. I lunged forward with my sword in front, skewering the first Cyclops, then yanked the sword out and hid behind the third Cyclops, making the second hit him, dazing him and allowing me to using his falling body as a springboard to stab the other Cyclops straight through the eye and into the brain, then calmly sliced the last Cyclops's head off. Now I was covered in golden dust as the monsters went back to Tartaurus.

I stalked through New York, rage making me kill every monster that I saw. After hours of reckless slaying, I realized that I had to get far away from camp. So I bought a ticket to San Fransisco, where the Titans magic, whatever remained of it, was the strongest, and would hide my scent. I barley got off the plane when the first monsters started to attack me. This may hide my scent to the gods, but the monsters sure knew exactly where I was. I finally found a good hotel that was cheap enough that I could sleep in, and sleep I did.

Line Break

When I woke up, I quickly left the hotel, and started to bury memories of Annabeth's and the Camper's betrayal. Then I heard,

"Cyclops! Behind you!" It sounded like several people were fighting a battle against a few dozen monsters. I ran towards the sound and gaped when I saw the scene. About fifteen to twenty older demigods formed a battle line against about seventy monsters. I wasn't going to miss this.

I charged their lines from behind, beheading a Telkhine and kicking another away before the monsters saw me. Then I started burrowing into their ranks, stabbing, slashing and cutting. Monsters started to dissolve, and I was barely hit at all, and the monsters started retreating away from the demigods, and the flanking attack I made. It started with a tickle, then they were running, about seventeen left after we were done with them. I turned to see that the demigods were all older than twenty-five, and in their thirties.

"Good job, kid. That attack gave us the distraction we needed to reform and push them back." One said. He looked like the leader, with brown eyes and dark brown hair. "you look a little young to be out of the Legion, though. A quest?"

"Whats the legion?" I asked, completely confused, also realizing that they carried _golden_ weapons, that looked like Roman swords from _Gladiator _or _Pompeii_.

"You don't know about the Legion? How did you survive?" The leader asked.

"Running, and trying to fight off any monsters who attack me." I had a strong feeling not to tell them about Camp Half-Blood. The leader turned back to his friends and said,

"Get your letters of reference, we're sending him too Camp." He said, making me even more confused. Letters of Commendation? Another Camp?

Line Break

Percy's POV

A few minutes later, they gave me thick sheafs of paper, and told me to go to the Caldecott Tunnel, about five miles south of Berkeley Hills.

"It is the only truly safe place for people like us." The leader, who I learned was John Brown, said.

"Then why aren't you there?" I asked.

"Ha! We like the challenge." said Eric, another one of the older demigods.

Line Break

I walked across the city, fighting of monsters as I saw them, and gradually making my way to the tunnel. It was well after eleven when I got their, but there was still enough light to see two people that looked like a Roman legionnaire crossed with a modern teenager, with golden swords and spears, and iron breastplates and plumed helmets, and underneath purple tee-shirts and jeans.

"Who are you?" One of them said roughly.

"Percy Jackson. Some people I met told me to go here for safety from monsters." I said, trying too look innocent and scared.

"Gwen, take him to camp, and bring him to Reyna or Jason." the same man said.

"What is this place? And why do you look like _Gladiator_ extras?" I said, keeping up my facade.

"Answer his questions too." He said.

She nodded and started walking through the tunnel.

"Come with me, and I'll give you an overview." Gwen said, her voice surprisingly soft after the other guy's voice. "OK, get ready for a shock. You know Greek gods, like Zeus and Hades? They exist, but only as we, the Romans, worshiped them. As there sons and daughters, we inherited some of their power. This is the base of the Twelfth legion of the Roman army, the only place safe for demigods like you or me."

"Wasn't Rome destroyed like, ten million years ago?" I asked.

"Yes, but we went underground to keep Rome alive." She said. "Now we take in demigods to help defend New Rome and help the gods."

"New Rome?"

"Yes, our own little city where you can retire and live, after you finish serving in the legion. And here we are." The end of the tunnel opened to a valley with a river, a lake, a militaristic looking camp, an aqueduct, and most stunning, a lively looking city, filled with gabled roofs and a house that looks suspiciously like the Capitol Building in DC.

"So this is Rome." I stated, my mouth falling open.

"Pretty much." She smirked as she looked at my face.

"Wow, it's big."

"Yes, it is. Do you want to start walking again, or gawk here all night?"

She started walking down to the camp, on a road called Via Praetoria, it stopped in front of building that said "Principia" which also happened to be the grandest building around. She took me inside, saying this was standard procedure for anyone who arrived, to take them to the Praetors and let them decide to keep me or not.

Line Break

Gwen's POV

As I led him inside, I thought that this isn't normal, and he shouldn't be alive at sixteen alone in the wild. I saw my two Praetors, Reyna and Jason standing over a map, discussing battle tactics and the defenses of each side of the valley. I cleared my throat loudly and waited for them to notice us.

"A new demigod? He looks old." Reyna said, looking Percy over.

"He has a powerful aura too." Jason commented, "And probably a powerful scent, too. How did he survive?"

"I fought," Percy spoke up, shocking the Praetors, who were expecting the classic story-being trained by Lupa to make it to camp.

"How did you know to get here?" Jason asked.

"A group of people told me to go here." Percy said.

"And I don't suppose you have any proof?"

"No—wait, I do." Percy surprised everyone again. He took out more then a dozen letters from his coat. "The people said these were letters of reference, and I should give them to you."

He tossed them on the table, and the Praetors started looking through them.

"Who gave them to you?" Jason asked.

"A thirty something man called John Brown, along with his friends."

"John? I replaced him as Praetor." Jason said. "Hold on, it says for courage and skill in battle. Did you fight them?"

"No. John and sixteen others were fighting group of seventy monsters or more. I attacked the monsters on the side and started killing them. Then John started pushing them back. In the end, there were made fourteen monsters left."

"John's word alone carries a lot of weight in camp, and with all the other letters saying you killed a dozen of the monsters alone, you would get instant membership of the legion, and a choice of cohort to join." Reyna stated, looking surprised, and almost in awe of me.

"Gwen, take him to your barracks, and find him a place to sleep tonight. There's going to be a meeting between the centurions tomorrow, and you to both need to attend. Two o' clock tomorrow, room four." Jason ordered, and so we headed to the section of buildings with a large five over them. I was put in a bunk two down and three to the right of Gwen's.

AN: Shout out to posiedonsson, first review. I had to include Camp Jupiter, because I need him to 1). have the marks, 2). know where it is/make friends there and 3). leave. And I would rather not have a flashback about how he came to Camp Jupiter. Sorry about the cliché Annabeth betrayal, I tried to make it different, but a betrayal is a betrayal.

If/When I do a poll, meaningful reviewer's votes count triple.


	3. Chapter 3- A New Day, For Now

**AN:** **IF YOU DON'T READ THESE, PLEASE DO! THEY ARE IMPORTANT!**

Chapter 3- A New Day, For Now

Percy's POV

I slept like a rock, so deep that Gwen had to shove me off the bunk to wake me up.

"I'm supposed to give you a tour of New Rome and Camp Jupiter to explain more in depth. We also have to go see Octavian." She scowled, like saying Octavian left a bad taste in her mouth.

"We're gonna start with the Camp. Camp Jupiter, named after Jupiter, king of the Gods, is divided into five sections, one for each cohort. A cohort is a unit of forty or so demigods, where they are further divided into halves of twenty, and they have a senior legionnaire, called a centurion, leading them. Got that so far?"

"Yep."

"Presiding over them all are two Praetors, who right now are Reyna, a daughter of Bellona, and Jason, son of Jupiter." she said, "And before asking who baloney is, Bellona is the Roman Goddess of War. When you join the legion, you have a tattoo of your godly parent burned onto your arm, along with strips for how many years you've served in the legion. After ten years you can chose to retire and live in New Rome, leave the valley, or stay with the legion. Still with me?"

"Mostly."

"In New Rome, we have Senate meetings to discus major happenings in camp, or relating to the gods. All Praetors and former Praetors are a part of it, and the same with centurions. The other people are just demigods appointed to be on the Senate, or with government jobs in the city, like quaestors or aediles. Up on that hill are the temples." She motioned to a large, flat topped hill, with several grand buildings on top of it. "Its also where Octavian is. You know who your godly parent is?"

"Yes, Neptune or Poseidon or whatever."

"Bad luck. Most Romans don't like the sea. We nearly lost the first Punic War after a storm sank our fleet of two-hundred seventy ships, and killed over one-hundred thousand men. Then, a couple years ago, another son of Neptune lost control, and forced us to relocate here. Now we have a temple to Neptune, but he isn't loved like Mars or Juno."

"Are you saying that just because Neptune was my dad means that I'll break everything? That's racist. Or family-ist. Or something."

"Don't joke about that. Some people here are very sensitive. Now we need to see Octavian." She said Octavian like a personal insult.

"I take it you aren't friends then?"

Line Break

Percy's POV

We eventually arrived at a temple that said, "Jupiter, the Best and Greatest" in large letters over the entrance. First similar thing about the camp, Zeus's ego. On the way there, Gwen chronicled how big a jerk Octavian was, constantly trying to grab power, and threatening to reveal secrets about the legionnaires if they don't get behind him.

The temple was huge, empty, and completely made out of marble. That was the first thing I noticed. The second thing was the skinny, pale kid sitting at the base of an alter, fluff surrounding him on all sides while he chanted.

"Ah, the new camper is here. And with him is no one but Gwen. How sweet." the kid, who I guessed was Octavian, said. He looked like he was around seventeen or eighteen, but was so thin, he could have passed for thirteen.

I could see Gwen become tense, like it was taking all her self control not to rip his head off. For all I could see, it did.

"Octavian," she said through clenched teeth, "Jason _requests_ that you see whether Percy here could be accepted into the legion."

"Of course he can, I have read the entrails. They say a powerful new camper will arrive. I would be honored if he would join me in the First Cohort." he said, he voice becoming soft and silky, "We wouldn't want anything _bad _to happen to you, like what happened to the Fifth a while ago, do we?"

"Nope," I said, lying so obviously that I hoped he would notice.

"Good, good, now I must return to my work as augur of the Legion." So, apparently he didn't notice.

Line Break

Percy's POV

"That guy is a jerk." I said, looking at Gwen, "But he mentioned something happened to the Fifth. What happened?"

"Something I don't want to talk about." She replied, "Now we have just enough time for a tour of the city."

As we walked around the city, she talked about the _cursus honorum,_ the political path Romans were supposed to go up to become powerful. On the first rank, there were quaestors, basically the accountants of the city. It went all the way up to consul, a rank that isn't used anymore, on account of the fact that it was far simpler to have the Praetors handle their jobs. If you were on the government jobs, you were in the Senate. Even If you only had a _cursus honorum _job for one term, you were on the Senate for life.

We came to a stop at the Principia building again.

"Right now, it's one fifty eight. We should enter, and sit down before the centurions start arriving." She led the way to a room marked as four in roman numerals, we entered and sat near the back of the half circle room, where we wouldn't speak unless called upon, she explained.

A minute later, centurions started coming in, eight of them, including Octavian, and the guy from the tunnel, who I noticed had a flask at his side, and his mouth was stained red.

"Shouldn't there be ten?" I whispered to Gwen, hoping the other wouldn't notice.

"The Praetors, while being leaders of the Legion, are also centurions. They arrive last, it's a custom." As she was talking, Jason and Reyna entered, and took the seats facing the others.

"We are here today to discuss a new legionnaire, Percy Jackson." Jason said, with an air of formality.

"Why did you call us together then? Why don't you put him on _probatio _put him in one of the cohorts?" called one of them, a strong-looking man with brown hair and brown eyes.

"Because he is odd. He is well past the age of normal recruits, was not trained by Lupa, and arrived with no less than seventeen letters of reference., including one from John Brown, our former Praetor. They say he killed twelve monsters on his own, and another few with them." Reyna said, and whatever she was going to say next was lost in the uproar of shouts and excited chatter.

"Quiet!" Jason boomed, so loud it was like thunder. Which made sense, he _was_ son of the lightning god, after all.

The centurions immediately shut up, so Reyna got a chance to say,

"The letters give enough recommendation that he becomes an instant member of the legion, and gets to chose the cohort he will train in." At that, that talking was so loud, even Jason couldn't quiet it. After a few minutes, it quieted down, and Jason started speaking again.

"Percy, come up here and choose which cohort you will stay in." I stood, and slowly walked up to the front, feeling all the centurions stare at me.

"I choose the Fifth cohort." I said. Jason looked at the red-mouth dude.

"Do you accept, Dakota?" He said.

"Yes."

"Well, I do to. Welcome to the Fifth cohort, Percy." Jason said. He turned back to the centurions, and said, "Ready?"

"Wait, who's his god?" Octavian said.

"Neptune." I replied, but to my surprise, I only got a few dirty looks, and they were quickly covered up

"Percy Jackson, son of Neptune, first year of service!" All the centurions shouted, and I forced a grin as fire burned a trident along with a horizontal line, into my forearm.

"Good job, most people scream when the symbol is burned into their arm." said Reyna, "Now, who will satnd for him?"

Gwen's hand was the first to shoot up, barely beating Dakota's and Jason's.

"Looks like Gwen will. Remember, try not to get him killed, and try to make sure he doesn't break anything. Hell, you've been here for nine years, you know what to do." Reyna spoke again.

Line Break

Percy's POV

We exited the Principia together, and Gwen started explaining things in more depth to me.

"You know all the Greek gods, right?" Gwen asked.

"Yes. I know them." My voice hardened, but I hoped she wouldn't notice.

"Well, each of them are actually Roman gods, after we came around and perfected them."

"I can see why. I always thought the Greek gods sounded like jerks."

"You sound like you have personal experience with gods."

"What? No. I just read about them online after I started discovering my powers. It looked like they just punished people for getting in the way, or used heros as playthings."

"Well, after we adopted them, they became more disciplined. Zeus became Jupiter, Hera became Juno Moneta, or Juno the Warner, Artemis became Diana, Apollo stayed Apollo , Hermes became Mercury, Aphrodite became Venus, Ares became Mars Ultor, or Mars the Avenger, Dionysus became Bacchus, Hephaestus became Vulcan, Demeter became Ceres, Poseidon became Neptune, and Athena became Minerva." Gwen said, amazingly in a single breath, "Hades became Pluto, but he wasn't an Olympian, so he's ignored more."

"So all the Roman gods are just disciplined Greek gods?" I asked, completely dumbfounded. How can a god be two gods at once?

"Basically. Then, in more camp-related stuff, every few nights we have some type of event, like war games, chariot racing, or deathball tournaments. War games are where the cohorts are split into two teams, and each of them need to get something of the other's. Chariot races are where we go the racetrack, which is the thing that looked like the football stadium, then we bet on a chariot team, they race, and we collect our winnings, or pay our losses. Deathball is in the big field, when two cohorts fight another two using paintball guns that shoot fireballs, acid and a few other things. The side with the last man standing wins." By the time she stopped talking, we arrived at the Fifth cohorts barracks.

"Gwen, what does standing up for me mean?"

"I'm responsible for teaching you about camp life, training you occasionally with weapons, and if you mess up, it looks bad on my record, too." Gwen explained, "So I'd be somewhat annoyed if you did something stupid, like blow up the barracks.

We entered, and she said, "Fifth, meet your new member, Percy Jackson."

"Hi Percy, I'm Blake, nice to meet you."

"I'm Tom, nice to have you with us."

"Sophie, hope we can be friends."

"Good to meet you, Percy. I'm Josh."

"Hey, Percy, I'm Sylvia!"

"Hey, good to meet you, I'm Ian."

"I'm Morgan, good to have you on board."

"John, I'm glad to have you in the Fifth."

I'll never be able to remember all of them. This was only eight of forty! Then two hundred!

"Go back to work, Fifth. You can meet him more later." I heard Jason's voice, and saw he was standing with Dakota at the entrance of the building.

"Remember, deathball tonight. Were with the First against the Second and Third. Be ready." Dakota said as he walked out the door, following Jason, who left a few seconds earlier.

"So I'm gonna have acid shot at me?" I asked Gwen.

"No, you'll stay with the Fourth, who isn't playing. They'll tell you the rules. I, on the other hand, will be kicking _podex._" She said with satisfaction.

"I take it you like playing?"

"Best in the cohort, and second best in the legion, barely behind Hank, from Fourth. By the way, if you see him, tell him he won't be first for long." She said, cracking her knuckles. I wouldn't have thought of her as the _podex_ kicking type, but hey, they call me Seaweed Brain for a reason. Or they did anyways.

"Now come with me to the armory. We need a sword and armor for you."

Line Break

Gwen's POV

We arrived at the armory, and saw Keats. His first name was John, but no one ever called him that. He was about forty to fifty years old, and a retired legionnaire, but still retained the position of Armorer.

"We need a sword and armor set for Percy here." I said as I gestured to Percy.

"No need for the sword. I already have one." Percy replied and took out from behind his back a sword that was leaf-shaped and look like. . . bronze?

"Ah, a Celestial Bronze sword. And Greek design too. How . . . odd." Keats said.

"What? Celestial Bronze?" I asked, completely confused.

"Like Imperial Gold, but rarer. All the weapons we had of Greek design were made out of it. But every one we had was lost, even since before Micheal's expedition." Keats replied, "People say they're cursed."

"We still need a Roman sword for you. If your gonna fight like a Roman, you need a sword of theirs too." I said. I didn't want the other legionnaires to think he was cursed. He was odd enough being so much older then the usual age.

"Here try this one." Keats handed Percy a mid-length sword, "No, to long. . . . try this one."

They continued on for over half an hour before Keats found a sword he was happy with.

"This should be perfect." He said. It was looked like it was only a few inches longer than the starting sword, and a little wider.

"Yeah, it is." replied Percy.

"Now let me take some measurements, and I should have your armor done soon." Keats proceed to take the usual measurements, waist circumference, shoulder width, height, and length from shoulder to width. Then, when we left the armory it was already late.

"Time for dinner, and right after, deathball." I told him, "Follow me."

Line Break

Percy's POV

No one had dinner like Romans. While breakfast was served at many different times, there was only one dinner.

"Holy shit!" I said. I faced a room with food flying like a tornado was in the center of the room. Like a gigantic food fight was going on with two hundred football players.

"Just think of what you want, and the nymphs will send it to you. Right over there is the Fifth cohorts tables, but after announcements, you can move wherever." informed Gwen.

I thought about two slices of cheese pizza and a cup of blue Pepsi. A few seconds later, it landed next right in front of me. The Pepsi was in a can, but when I opened it, it was blue.

"Silence!" Jason boomed. We all quited instantly.

"Announcement! Today, Percy Jackson joined the Fifth Cohort. After dinner today, we have deathball. First and Fifth against Second and Third. And in a few days, war games near the Little Tiber.

"Percy! Remember me, Sylvia?" The girl from Fifth's barracks sat down next to me. She had brown hair and blue eyes.

"Yeah. You were their when Gwen introduced me."

"Well, I couldn't talk then. But it's dinner now. So tell me about yourself."

"I spent the last few years fighting monsters, running, and trying to survive. What else is there to say?"

"How about your parents? Do they know you're here? Are you a legacy?"

"Well, my mom is fine, yes she knows I'm here, and what the hell is a legacy?"

"A legacy is a descendant of a god, like two generations down or more." said Sylvia

"No, Neptune is my father."

"Oh, well I'm a legacy of Vulcan. Bad luck with Neptune. Most people bias against sons and daughters of Neptune and/or Pluto."

"Gwen said that to. Is it really that bad?"

"Well, if you keep messing up, then yes. But if you get their respect, you should be fine. So how did you survive for sixteen years on your own? Most people get here at ten or twelve."

"I ran. And when cornered, I fought."

"With what?"

"I stole a sword from a museum. To my surprise, it hurt them."

"The sword was gold right?" asked Sylvia

"Actually, it was bronze." I replied to her question.

"Deathball in two minutes! Be ready!" called Dakota.

"I gotta run. Go watch from the sidelines with the Fourth." she said, and sprinted away, to the barrack.

The deathball match was loud and confusing, and I couldn't see much in the dark, only flashes of fire. I only heard curses, cheers and hissing sounds when the acid hit something.

"Your the new kid, right? The names Hank, currently best in the legion at this." said a legionnaire with shoulder-length black hair, pale skin, and brown eyes. "In deathball, you shoot acid, fireballs and other stuff at the enemy. If you get hit, you walk to the side. The acid and stuff won't get through your armor, but it smells like a dumpster. When you think your the last, you shout, and if no one replies, you win."

"Gwen told me to tell you, you wouldn't be the best for long." I said.

"Ha! Yes I will, but I'm still rooting her team. She _is_ still the second best." replied Hank. Just then, I heard Gwen yell, "Last!" No one replied, so she walked out, her armor spotless. She walked over to us, grinning.

"Ah, I see you've met Hank, Percy." she said, "Seventeen more."

"You're still about thirty-six behind me, though." replied Hank.

"Whatever. Lets go back the the barracks and get some sleep." Gwen said, and we ran back to the Fifth, where she put away her armor.

"Sleep well, Gwen." I said, already in my bunk.

"You to, Perce." She crashed onto her bunk, and I could hear her snoring.

AN: A reviewer said I should have Percy's experience in Camp Jupiter, so I split the previous Chapter Three in two, and added to them.

Remember: If/when I conduct a poll, reviewers votes count triple.


	4. Chapter 4- War Games

AN: I just split Chapter Three into two parts, and expanded on them, as per a reviewer's request of sorts.

Chapter Four- War Games.

Percy's POV

I woke up, then stood by the door, waiting for Gwen to get up. While I was there, I struck up a conversation with Dakota.

"What should I expect today?" I asked.

"Well, Gwen will need to teach you the basics of sword-fighting, and teach you the basic legion customs, along with the history of the Fifth." said Dakota.

"Octavian mentioned something happened in the Fifth Cohort a while ago. What happened?"

"Not my place to tell. Gwen will, if she wants to. Now I've gotta meet with Jason." He went off in the direction of the Principia. A few minutes after that, Gwen walked over.

"Come with me. I need to start teaching you Roman swordsmanship." Once we were in the fields, I could see dozens of other people sparing, from ages ten to upwards of thirty.

"I got your sword from Keats." She handed me the sword. "Try attacking me."

I arched my eyebrow, and started with a slash. As soon as I started, I felt the balance of the blade to be all wrong to swing. Gwen simply leaned to the side and watched the blade do past.

"This is a Roman blade, meant for stabbing, not your Greek one. Get a shield from the pile." She gestured to a pile of shields and went over to get one herself.

"We use the shield to hit the enemies weapon to the side before stabbing them int the chest. Our swords are built for the tip for it to be extremely easy to penetrate."

I raised my eyebrow at her, "So it would be extremely easy to penetrate someone with my tip?" I asked.

"Pervert." Gwen said, punching me in the arm, "Don't even think about it."

We got back to where we were before.

"I'm going to try attacking you, use your shield to knock me sword away before trying to stab me." she said, and stabbed with exaggerated slowness at me. Moving at the same pace as her, I knocked away her sword before pointing my own at her.

"Good, you know the theory. Another few years, and you'll be a competent swordsman." She said

After a few hours, she told me to take out my other sword. I did, uncapping it behind my back, so she wouldn't see it expand.

"OK, now attack me again."

Line Break

Gwen's POV

"OK, now attack me again." I said, not really knowing what to expect, maybe some slashing, like he tried to do with his _gladius_. He came at me like a whirlwind, slashing so fast, I couldn't keep up. After a few minutes, he did something where he twisted his sword around mine, then wrenched downward, neatly disarming me.

"How are you _that _good with it?" I asked in amazement. He could probably challenge Jason or Reyna.

"I was the best fencer at my school." he said, but I saw his eyes darken. He was lying. He had a history he didn't want me to know about. He started talking quickly, changing the subject, "Dakota also said you would teach me about the Fifth."

I told him about how Jason became Praetor, the various quests he went on, and Micheal Varius's expedition to Alaska, which wiped out much of the Fifth Cohort. But when I mentioned the Prophecy of Seven, I saw his eyes widen then darken like before. So a history he doesn't mention, _an_d he recognizes the prophecy.

Line Break

Gwen's POV

It was a few days after Percy joined and he showed Dakota and Jason how proficient with that blade he carried, Riptide. Even with the fact it was a Greek blade, and made out of bronze, the centurions let him keep it, so long as he learned how to fight like a Roman, too. Tonight was when he tested it in the war games.

I saw Percy get up, and we headed over to the sword training area. I spent enough time with him to see the sadness and hurt he carried around, but he wouldn't tell me what happened. I, along with Dakota, Jason, and Sylvia, a daughter of Vulcan, were able to make a friendship with him, but no one else was able to. Percy acted perfectly sane, but he so withdrawn, it was odd. He was not shy, and completely confident in what he did, he was just silent most of the time, unless he was talking to one of us four.

"So, how's it going, Perce?" I asked, "War games tonight."

I saw his eyes light up a that chance of fighting again. This war games, some of us were trying to capture a fort, and some were trying to defend it.

"Oh, right! Time for us to kick some _podex,_ now that we can both . . . " He trailed off, and I saw his eyes become cold, dark, and hurting before turning back to how they usually were. That history again.

I wondered what made him hurt so much what would make him so. . . _broken_ however much he tried to hide it.

Then was dinner, Roman style, with wind spirits throwing food around at dangerous velocities while all the legionnaires laughed and talked. I saw Percy with a slice of cheese pizza and some blue drink in his hand. Every meal, something was blue, and he never said anything about it.

"Hey, Percy!" I shouted with my table of friends, including Dakota, Jason, Sylvia, Larry, and Hank. "Come join us."

He made his way over, ducking and dodging flying food, and made his way over to us.

"So, what are we talking about?" he asked.

"You know, strategy. With war games tonight, we want to get as much info out of other centurions as we can, while feeding then misinformation, hence Larry and Hank.

"So what do you think of the fort tonight?" I asked.

"Well the defenses of the east side are weak. You should attack there." Hank started. Yeah, sure. There was also the Little Tiber right up against the wall. Wait . . . son of Neptune. . .

My thought were interrupted when Nico, the so called "Ambassador of Pluto" came up.

"Hey, meet Nico, Ambassador to Pluto."

He turned around slowly, while putting his hood up and saying, "Nico who?"

"Nico di Angelo." Nico said, extending his hand which the Percy warily took. "I haven't seen you here before."

"I'm new." When Nico withdrew his hand, I saw a little strip of paper.

Line Break

Percy's POV

How is _he _here? He wasn't among the crowd of angry campers outside my cabin, so he's still my friend, I think.

"I'm new." as I shook his hand, I pressed a little slip of paper that said "I need to talk to you outside, five minutes." a piece of paper that Jason gave me earlier today.

"I need to go, Gwen." I said.

"Where?"

"Bathroom." Lying came easily the last few days. I walked outside and started watching the doors.

Line Break

The slip of paper in my hand said "I need to talk to you outside, five minutes." so when the five minutes were up, I made my excuses, and left. As soon as I walked out, I saw the hooded guy.

"Follow me." he said, and I had no clue who he was, just an idea to obey him. When he stopped, he said,

"I didn't expect to see you here, Nico." He turned around and lowered his hood, and I saw a familiar face with black hair and sea-green eyes.

"P-percy?" I stuttered. "I thought you were dead! After you left camp, well, no one could survive in the wild, alone for over a week!"

"Yes, I am alive, and you have to swear not to say anything about this to anyone, monster or god." That was an odd request.

"Why?"

"I left camp for a reason." His eyes flashed red as he looked me over, "And I can tell you don't know. You would have to be a little afraid if you knew."

"Knew what?"

"First, swear."

"Fine, I swear on the River Styx not to tell anybody about you, ar your being here of what you are about to say, to anyone who doesn't know, and until you release me from this oath." I hear thunder in the distance, "Good enough?"

"Yes. Anyways, I left camp because Annabeth was cheating on me for over a year with Ethan Nakamura, then when he died, it looked like she never cared for me again. When I found out and asked her, she told the campers I dumped her for no reason, and released a bunch of stuff showing me in the worst possible light. That got the consolers almost breaking my door down. I left after that, and traveled to San Fransisco, where they wouldn't look for me. Now, here I am, with a new life and new friends." He explained it all.

"Annabeth? She? That bitch! And the campers just automatically believed her?" I shouted in outrage.

"Yes, but now I have new, and better friends. No people are as loyal as Romans."

I was about to reply when I heard the horn call for the war games tonight.

Line Break

Percy's POV

I felt slightly guilty at using my Phobos powers on Nico, but I had to know if he knew what happened. Now we headed back to the street to see all the legionnaires going into the armory to get gear for tonights games.

"Percy! After you get your armor, meet me at the barracks!" Gwen yelled, and I nodded acknowledgment.

"Are you playing?" I asked Nico.

"No, my shadow traveling makes this a bit unfair."

I gathered my standard issue armor, delivered by Keats a few yesterday, and ran to the barracks while putting it on.

"Percy, get in here!" I heard Dakota yell. I walked in and saw Gwen, Dakota, and Jason were all huddled around a map of the fort

"Gwen, let's hear your plan." Jason said

"Well, you know how the Little Tiber runs right up next to the wall?"

"Yes?"

"Well, now that we have a son on Neptune, he can lift us all on the water, right up to the top. Then we charge on even ground with them."

"I can do it, but I need to be at the front." I said confidently.

"OK. Dakota, you take charge of that. I'll work with everyone else to provide distraction."

Line Break

"Teams are: Second and Fifth attacking, First, Third, and Fourth are defending." Reyna said, acting as the judge, which apparently she and Jason switched off as.

Dakota took twenty of our cohort, including Gwen and I, to the west side of the fort, where the Little Tiber was. Then a horn called, signaling the start of the game.

After the Second and other half of the Fifth cohort attacked, we charged, me in the lead, Dakota and Gwen on either side of me. Just like old times.

When my feet touched the water, I could feel something leave me, and my skin felt more sensitive. The Curse of Achilles must be gone. Why? I raised and solidified the water, and with the twenty best fighters of the Fifth behind me, we stepped off the river and onto the wall. Everyone was on the other three sides, and no one had noticed.

"Charge!" Dakota shouted, and we quickly disarmed the shocked legionnaires on the North and South walls, and sent ladders down to our friends and the Second cohort, allowing the reinforcements to take the West wall.

"Dakota! Percy! Come with me." Jason ordered, and we followed him into the fort, in the direction of the keep, where the standards had to be kept.

We entered a room to find ten legionaries with locked shields in front of the flags of the First, Third and Fourth cohort.

"Surrender, you aint't gettin' past us." One of them, a centurion, said with a Southern accent.

"I beg to differ." I said, and we all put our shields in front of us when we ran, forming battering rams. We hit with a solid _thunk_ managed to break their lines. Now we were surrounded by the ten of them, who all had their weapons out. I was three to one, but I had a Praetor and a Centurion on my side.

I dodged the first stab, got nicked on the arm by the second, but shield bashed my third attacker. To my surprise, the sword did manage to cut my skin. So the curse did leave me. . . . I grabbed the bashed guy and threw him at my second attacker, a girl, who had to either catch him, or get slammed into. I turned to the last one, blocked a poorly aimed slash (not a real Roman sword-fighting move) and punched him in the helm so hard, it rang like a gong. He crumpled to the floor, just as the girl was getting up. I walked over, held my sword to her throat.

"Yield?"

"Yes . . ." I looked around just in time to see Jason knock out the Centurion, and Dakota disarm the his third attacker.

"Anyone escape? I got four." asked Jason.

"I got three." I replied.

"Me too. That makes ten. Now lets get these standards, and get out of here." Dakota took the Third cohorts standards, tossed the First's to Jason, and the Fourth's to me.

As soon as we walked out, we were escorted to the front gates by the Fifth cohort, or the twenty or so that didn't surrender.

"The Game is won! Assemble for the honors!" Reyna called over the tumult of congratulations. Soon after, I heard someone yell, "I need a medic! Now!"

I ran over to see Gwen, with a spear from the First cohort through her chest. She had been speared from behind. By the time I got there, medics were already giving her ambrosia and pouring nectar onto the wound.

"Will she make it?" asked Jason.

"No, her life force is fading. I can see it." Nico said from next to him.

I spun around, beyond furious, raging. There was only one person from the First cohort without a spear. . . . .

_Octavian_

AN: Mwah ha ha! Will he kill Octavian? Will I decide to let Gwen come back? Will Percy try to kill himself? This chapter was over 6k words originally, then I split it into two

I won't update this quickly in the future, I just needed to get the plot moving.

Remember: If/when I conduct a poll, reviewers votes count triple.


	5. Chapter 5- The Death of a Hero

AN: Remember, if you want to help direct where the story is going, you need to do a poll. But there won't be many polls.

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of.

Chapter 5- Hope Survives Best at the Hearth

Percy's POV

I spun around, beyond furious, raging. There was only one person from the First cohort without a spear. . . . .

_Octavian_

I glared at him, seeing all his fears. There! He was afraid of us finding out he killed her. Only a bit afraid, but the fear was still there, and could still be used. Then a helmet was in my way, and I could see my reflection, with glowing red eyes. That looked bad-ass.

"She's dead." a medic said, stepping back.

"There will be an investigation. Gwen was a ninth year legionnaire, and this," Jason gestured to the spear while he spoke, "This is _not_ how Romans fight."

I couldn't do anything with all the legion around me, so I followed Octavian when he walked off.

"YOU KILLED HER!" I shouted, menace and rage filling my voice.

"Now, Percy," Octavion said in a condecending tone, "Why would I kill her? I am a true Roman, and it would do you well to remember that, _Graecus."_

I felt my eyes flash, and I did something I never tried before.

"You will _pay._" I said as I made him experience his fears. All of his fears at once. I was with him, and I saw his greatest fear. Isolation. Being the outsider, forgotten.

"Oh, so your afraid of the dark? Scared of being alone? Scared that all your friends will leave you? _Well, where are they now_?" I hissed. All he could do is shake, moan and sob.

When I stopped when I saw his heart was skipping beats. For a second, I felt a thrill of pleasure shoot through me. Is this what Phobos feels when he uses his powers?

Rage was still coursing through me, the betrayal reminding me of the other one, and the pain was just as fresh. I needed comfort. I needed to see my mother again.

Line Break

Percy's POV

I was walked past the camp borders and to the first parking lot I saw.

"_Anakoche, harmra epitribeios!" _I shouted, and threw a drachma into the pavement. I saw the pavement crack, and the Gray Sister's taxi pull up.

"One-oh-fourth and First, please, in New York. Why do you have a taxi anyways? You never had a chariot in the any of the myths." I said, trying to take my mind off the pain.

"New York? That'll cost extra. And when do you mortals ever record anything right?"

"Thirty _deniarii_ if you get me there within the hour." I said.

"Ha! You asked for it." The one with the eye said. We flew through the streets at around two-thousand, nine-hundred mph (look it up). Several times, we went right through trees, buildings, and hot dog stands. In less then an hour, I got out, right at the intersection.

"Thanks." I passed them my whole bag of _denarii. _They cackled with glee as they sped off, and my IPod started playing One, by Metallica.

_I Can't Remember Anything  
>Can't Tell If this Is True or Dream<br>Deep down Inside I Feel to Scream  
>this Terrible Silence Stops Me<br>Now That the War Is Through with Me  
>I'm Waking up I Can Not See<br>That There's Not Much Left of Me  
>Nothing Is Real but Pain Now<br>_

I stepped up onto the elevator, and took it all the way up to my mother's apartment.

"Mom?" I asked as I knocked. When I got no reply, I turned the knob and pushed. The door swung right open, and I saw the carnage in the living room.

_Someone killed my mother!_

Line Break

Percy's POV

"Ha ha, Perseus. Enjoy life without a family. -Kronos" was painted in red on the wall.

_Hold My Breath as I Wish for Death  
>Oh Please God, wake Me<br>_

My mother's and Paul's bodies were on the floor, killed so savagely, they were nearly unrecognizable. I stood there, shocked. This isn't real. This can't be real. Even the Fates couldn't be that cruel. Why me? Haven't I lost enough? I heard shouting outside, and ran to the window.

"Percy is weak now. We attack!" I heard a monster yell. It was an enormous gathering of monsters, and at the head was the Minotaur. I jumped through the open window and started falling down.

"Take me! Spare Percy!" I heard my mother's voice from a Cyclops in the middle. They _dared_ mock _ my mother_?

"_YOU WILL ALL DIE_!" I yelled, letting loose a primal scream of rage. The world turned blue, and I was at the center of it all. Everything slowed down, as I felt the pain course through me.

_Darkness  
>Imprisoning Me<br>All That I See  
>Absolute Horror<br>I Cannot Live  
>I Cannot Die<br>Trapped in Myself  
>Body My Holding Cell<br>_

I landed on the Minotaur, stabbing it through the heart. If he had one. _NO ONE_ _HARMS MY MOTHER AND LIVES._

"_I WILL KILL YOU ALL._" I screamed. I threw away my sword, and started tearing through them with my bare hands. I snapped a dracaeni's neck, and started laughing as the dust covered me.

"_NO ONE HERE WALK AWAY ALIVE."_ The world was still blue, and the monsters moved slowly. I took a Telkhine's arm and used it to make him stab himself. A Cyclops ran at me. I easily blocked its punch, and returned one of my own. It went right through his chest, and I could feel blood on my fist.

"_NO ONE HURTS MY MOTHER!" _I felt a tug in my gut, and saw mist rising around me. I heated it up until it was boiling, cooking the monsters inside there own bodies.

"_HA! YOU THINK THIS IS PAIN? _YOU KNOW NOTHING OF PAIN!" I chilled the mist as much I could, and watched frost form on the fifty or so monsters that survived the boiling.

Then I switched it to boiling so quickly, the frost instantly melted, and started melting the flesh beneath it. I felt the same pleasure I felt when punishing Octavian. Only stronger now, oh, so much stronger. I felt so good, so _fun, _it scared me.

The, with golden dust covering me, and the screams of the monsters behind me, I ran, hoping to leave my past behind me. It almost worked.

Line Break

Percy's POV

"Going somewhere, Perseus?" It was a warm voice, filled with the comfort of home. I looked around to see a young girl crouched by a fire. Hestia.

"How did you know where I am?" I said, my voice dull and broken, grief overpowering any other emotion.

"My domain is the Hearth. I felt you lose yours."

"I have. Now I have nothing left."

"Wrong. Do you recognize this jar?" She held out a piece of pottery I last saw during the Titan War, Pandora's Pithos. "Take it. Hold it for a while."

I took the _pithos_ from her with both hands.

"Will you open it, Percy? Will you give up hope?"

"No. I can't. I couldn't do that to everyone else."

"Then you still have hope, and a feeling that humanity needs it. Now I offer you a choice. I offer you my blessing. Will you take it?"

"Yes."

"You can either choose the power to summon fire to harm, or the heal. The hearth has the power of both."

"Heal." I said without hesitation. I will not let another friend die after Gwen and Beckendorf.

"You still think you can help others then." She shot me with a red light, much softer then Phobos's and Deimos's blessing. "You now can heal, and much more than that. You remember when I said the hardest skill to learn is when to yield?"

"Yes."

"It is not truly about yielding. It's about control. Now you will be far more in touch with your powers, and use them with much more versatility."

"Why me? You haven't given anyone your blessing before."

"You can still do so much to help in this world. It would be to great loss a to have you sink into depression like so many others." She said, "Now, I believe a couple of _other_ people wish to talk to you."

I turned around and saw that in Central Park were there was a woman carrying torches, and a man with pure black wings.

Line Break

Percy's POV

"Lady Hestia said you wanted to talk to me." I stated.

"Yes, we do. We never properly thanked you for pardoning us from our actions. This is Hecate, and I am Thanatos." The man with wings said.

"In the Titan War, we supported Kronos. Zeus has been ignoring minor gods for too long. I thought I would be facing millennia in prison, but you freed us from that." said Hecate, the torch-bearing woman.

"In return, we would like to bless you, much like we saw Hestia bless you earlier. Do you accept?"

"Yes."

They both blasted me with light, purple from Hecate and pure black from Thanatos.

"You now have power over the Mist, the ability to create a torch-like flame, and the power to raise souls from the Underworld." Hecate said.

"I thought I could already control the Mist."

"You could bend it to your will. This gives you more extreme power, lets you use it in many more ways." Hecate explained, "These powers should help you with the whatever Hestia told you to do."

"She didn't tell me to do anything." I replied.

"Yes, but what did she _imply_. She usually doesn't give a straight answer."

"Then what should I do?"

"Whatever you wish to. You have no ties to anywhere, and are beholden to no one. You are free from responsibility. You could try to be a mortal. You could try to interpret the prophecy. You could travel. Or you could stay here." said Hecate, "You're rarely this free, so do what you wish."

"And remember, you can summon dead friends if you need advice." Thanatos said, before they both flashed out.

I tried to summon the dead like I would water, and wished for Beckendorf. Suddenly, a paler, ghostly replica of him appeared.

"Beckendorf! You're here!" I said. Beckendorf had been one of my best friends in camp before he died blowing up the _Princess Andromeda_.

"Yes, I am. But how?" He said, looking confused.

"Well, Thanatos blessed me, giving me the power to summon the spirits of dead people. So, how's Elysium?"

"You know, for a place full of dead people, it's pretty lively."

"Because of a certain daughter of Aphrodite? How are you two getting along?"

"Pretty well. Just yesterday, we went out to dinner at an Underworld replica of Daniel's. You know, that French place you took Annabeth to a few months ago." He said, then, noticing my look, said, "Whats wrong? Did you two break up?"

"You could say that. More like I discovered she was dating Ethan Nakamura since we met him in the Labyrinth, then he died. Then she turned the whole camp against me with fabricated gossip. So now, I can go anywhere, apparently."

"Man, that sucks! The Annabeth cheating on you part, not the traveling part. I'd love to go to France, or Spain." He said wistfully.

"Hey, can't you just get reborn?"

"Well, then I wouldn't see Silena anymore, and I can't have that."

Then his spirit disappeared as something big took it's place, a lion with a serpent tail and a goat sticking out of it's shoulder.

"Go, sonny!" I heard someone call, a someone who was on the St. Louis Arch last I saw her.

I started running as the Chimera charged, and was looking behind me when I crashed into a pile of stones. The Door of Orpheus.

Meanwhile, my IPod, still in one piece, reached the end of the playlist, and started playing One again.

I charged at Enchida, aiming to stab her before the Chimera caught up. It again, almost worked. When I was a few feet away, the Chimera slammed into me. I rolled to my feet just in time to uncap Riptide to block the serpent trying to bite me. Then I tried to stab the goat head, which breathed fire, and forced me to back up. I needed a new strategy. I summoned a layer of water around me, as a shield, and charged. The goat belched more fire at me, and evaporated all the water, but I kept going, stabbing the goat head through the throat. Then things started to go wrong.

The serpent bite me in the side, and it felt like someone had dumped a mixture of lava and acid over my entire left side. Then the Chimera's paws sliced me in the chest, leaving bloody furrows. I staggered back, breathing heavily, and beginning to feel weak from the poison and blood loss. I wasn't going to survive this fight, I realized. So I might as well take the Chimera along with me.

Holding Riptide in front of me like a spear, I ran as fast as I could at the Chimera, and managed to cut him in the flank while he roared, but he jumped on me, and started crushing my chest as I buried Riptide hilt deep in it's stomach.

As he dissolved, Enchida ran.

_Hold My Breath as I Wish for Death  
>Oh Please God, wake Me<em>

I tried to sing along, but failed as it was getting hard to breathe.

Before I died, I saw a man, a man in a cowled, dark green cloak, appear out of the forest. He looked at my chest, and shook his head,

"There is nothing I can do. The cuts are too deep, and many. You've maybe twenty minutes left at most."

"Please, try to protect my friends."

"Who are they? I take it you mean demigods."

"Nico, Thalia, Jason, Dakota, Sylvia." I coughed out.

"What about the girl, Annabeth?"

"No. . . ."

""I promise I will look after them. I swear it on the River Styx."

"Thank . . . .you . . . ."

"Now I can ease your pain, make it easier to speak and breathe." He chanted a soft tune, and with something that sounded like boulders rumbling, I no longer felt that I was about to die, but I wasn't fooling myself. The man stayed with me until he saw me pass into Hades realm.

Mystery Man POV

When I saw him leave this realm, I started walking. From what I saw in his memories, Jason, Dakota and Sylvia were at Camp Jupiter, Nico wandered, and Thalia was with the Hunters of Artemis.

"It is time to honor my oath."

AN: Yes, this chapter sucks. If you say it isn't, well, I dunno. It just felt bad when I was writing it. I can never write a good scene where someone dies.

This is the Mystery Man's cloak:

Distressed%20Hunter%20Green%20Cotton%20Twill%20Rangers%

It's the first image, as I can't get the full url to copy here.

I solemnly swear I did not get the Mystery Man idea from Anaklusmos14 or anyone else. My inspiration was in the _Ranger's Apprentice _series. I always wanted there to be a Ranger that's like Will in book twelve, but I came up with the idea of a darker Ranger when reading book three, and so I'm not copying anyone, anywhere, anyhow.

Yes, the Mystery Man will come back. He is _very _important, the reason why OC's on the character list.


	6. Chapter 6- Enter Dex

AN: When I make a pun in the story, I know I made it. It's intentional.

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of.

Chapter Six- Enter Dex

3rd Person's POV

"Percy is dead!" Hades announced as he ran into the throne room on Olympus. The gods immediately started shouting, but Poseidon's voice drowned them all out.

"What! How? Whoever did this will pay with their life!" Poseidon shouted, his aura flickering dangerously.

"I don't know! I just felt him pass into my realm, and flashed up here as soon as I did!" Hades shouted back.

"Where did he die?"

"I don't fucking know! I can see who died, nothing else!"

" If I may interrupt," Hestia's quiet voice said, "I was talking to him in Central Park just a few minutes ago. You could check there."

"What was he doing in Central Park?" Poseidon demanded.

"Running away from Camp after he found your daughter had been cheating on him with Ethan Nakamura before Ethan died?" she said, gesturing to Athena. "I also feel a strong monster around there, if you'd care to check." she added sarcastically.

"What? _Your_ daughter cheated on Perseus? _Why_?" There was no mistaking the danger in Poseiden's voice.

"Enough! You can argue later. Artemis, get your hunters on that monster. Interrogate it until it tells us how Percy died!" Zeus thundered.

Line Break

Thalia's POV

"Artemis, why are we here?" I asked, confused.

"Zeus felt a monster we need to capture without delay. It is near." She replied, her answers vague.

"Capture, not kill?"

"Yes. You must capture it."

"What is it?"

"We don't know, but it's powerful." Artemis turned and shouted, "Hunters! Follow me!"

She stared running off into the woods, with the Hunt, or what was left of it after the war, following her.

"No . . . . my sonny . . . ," we heard from the trees.

"There! Capture her!" Artemis yelled. We ran up behind a fat, middle-aged woman, and after a slight hesitation, clubbed her in the head, knocking her out cold.

"Thats Enchida." stated Artemis, surprise in her voice. Artemis walked over and punched her, hard.

"What happened to Perseus?" she said as Enchida sat up.

"He killed my sonny!" Enchida said, sounding heart-broken.

"You mean the Chimera?"

"Yeah, I had to run away. But it look like he was dying." Enchida sobbed out, "Percy, I mean."

Artemis turned to me. "Kill her. Even without the Chimera she is dangerous."

"What did she say about Percy?" I replied, rage in my voice, "What didn't you tell us!"

"Perseus died minutes ago. Zeus sent me to hunt down his killer."

"What?" I turned to Enchida, rage filling my body, "_You killed Percy? __You will die!"_

"I didn't! My . . Argh" I started stomping on her, determined to make her as bloody as possible.

"_Why_?" I drew my spear, and stabbed her through the throat, then twisted my spear out, and put it through her stomach.

She started coughing up blood, then dissolved like so many other monsters.

"I must go to Olympus, and tell the council." Artemis flashed away, leaving me to sit down and cry.

Line Break

Artemis's POV

I flashed into the throne room and called a meeting. Seriously, they can't just wait here? He's only the greatest hero since basically ever.

"Artemis! What did you find? What killed him?" Poseidon yelled.

"We found Enchida in the woods. She said the Chimera attacked Perseus, and while Perseus managed to defeat it, he was close to death when Enchida ran away."

Poseidon exploded with rage, "SHE WILL DIE."

"She's already dead. Thalia killed her after she heard Perseus was dead."

"Well, what do we do now? We can't just forget about him." Apollo said, "He was cool."

"Hades, he went to Elysium, right?"

"The judges said they never judged him, but the guards said someone with black hair and green eyes skipped judging and went into Asphodel."

"What? Why?" Poseidon asked, concern in his voice.

"Perhaps he wanted to forget. Asphodel has that effect. We know he was hurt by Annabeth's betrayal. It cut deep. I felt he lost his place there." Hestia said, "We should raise a statue of him somewhere."

"Hephaestus, get with Athena and make a statue better then any ever before." Poseidon ordered, his voice empty, "Does anyone else need to say anything?"

"Then I call the council adjourned. Do not disturb me unless it is vital. I need time to mourn." he said, and flashed away.

Line Break

**Time Skip: Three years and eleven months.**

Thalia's POV

"Thalia! Wake up! It's another one!" Pheobe, my second-in-command, was calling me.

"Another? How many does that make?"

Since about five months ago, young girls started appearing in the middle of camp, early in the morning, before the sun rises. They weren't all demigods either, there were several mortals too, but they all had the same story: They were being chased or beaten by either people or monsters when a man in a green woolen cloak appeared, and brutally killed whatever was harming them. Then he would give them food, and said he would take them to place they would have a new family and be happy. He never gave anyone his name, but he always comforted them, and the girls always said he was like a bigger brother they never had. Along with the cloak, the only clue we had about him is that he had glowing golden eyes.

I clung to a desperate hope it was Percy, as we thought he was dead before, but he kept surviving. If the rumors were true, the same thing was happening at Camp Half-Blood, but without mortals, and boys were included too. The only problem was that even before he appeared, demigods started dying, always with what looked like scythe wounds and always with cryptic notes on their bodies, like "Stop Trying" or "He was close." signed with -S. It looked like a woman's handwriting, and every one said _he_ was a male.

"It makes nine, Lieutenant." said Pheobe, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Take me to her."

She led me out where a young girl that looked about nine, with brown hair and brown eyes, was sitting and crying.

"You don't need to cry," I said, rushing over and holding her, "What's your name?"

"Diana." she said, her sobs coming under control.

"I like your name. Why are you crying?"

"The man with golden eyes said that I probably wouldn't see him much after I joined the hunt. He became as close as family to me."

"Don't worry, this has happened before, the other girls he's brought here are all happy."

"I know. He told me I would be happy here, he said that the other people he rescued would welcome me, if I told them my story, and to welcome anyone who told me that story."

I walked over to Artemis's tent and said, "My lady, we have another prospective sister!"

A few seconds later, she emerged from the tent, and headed for us.

"Another?"

"Yes."

"Very well, come with me." Artemis directed the order at Diana, "You too, Thalia."

She lead us to her tent, and motioned us inside.

"What is your name?"

"Diana. My brother spoke highly of you."

"That's good to hear. Diana, I offer you immortality and a life in the Hunt if you swear off love. _He_ seemed to think it was the best choice for you. Would you accept?"

"Wait, _all _love?"

"All romantic love." I clarified.

"Oh, good." said Diana, looking relieved, "I accept."

"Then repeat after me: I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis" I said.

"I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."

"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt."

"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt." she repeated after me.

"I accept your oath. Welcome to the Hunt!" replied Artemis.

We all went outside, and saw some of the hunters waiting.

"Hunters! We have a new sister, Diana!" commanded Artemis.

I stood back as she was mobbed by all the hunters at once. We now numbered at twenty three, including Diana. Other then the nine _he_ sent us, we were only able to recruit four.

"Welcome to the Hunt, sister." I said when it was my turn to hug her, then it was Artemis's turn.

"Welcome to the Hunt." she said, smiling warmly. "Now, If I'm not mistaken, a few people want to speak with you."

The other eight of the hunters _he _brought came over, and led her away.

Line Break

Diana's POV

"Ou_r _brother brought you here, right?" one asked.

"Yep." I said.

"More importantly, do you have the coin?" another whispered in my ear, "Just nod or shake your head. Remember what he said, but don't repeat it or write it down anywhere."

"Welcome to your new family! He wasn't lying when he said you would have fun here."

Line Break

Dakota's POV

"Behind you, Jason!" I shouted while stabbing a Telkhine. We were currently killing a horde of monsters in the Caldecott Tunnel, one that came when we were on sentry duty, and was pushing us further down the tunnel.

I dodged a Cyclops's club, and saw Jason spin around and kill the empousai that was sneaking up behind him. Thank the gods for ADHD. Without it, I wouldn't be able to keep track of everything at once.

Then a giant with "Babycakes loves Joe Bob" tattooed on its arm bowled me over, and raised an axe to kill me when I saw it dissolve, a black arrow protruding from it's neck.

"Get up! There are still many more to kill!" I heard, and saw a man in a cloak with glowing golden eyes at the end of the tunnel, holding a large bow in his hand.

"You!"

"Later! Jason is still fighting!"

He stared firing in earnest, and I watched monsters start falling, all with arrows sticking out of there head or neck. I shook my head at his accuracy, and charged the remaining monsters. Before I got there, the rest were all dissolved by Jason's sword or the bow of the stranger.

"Now you can ask." he said.

"Who are you? And why are you here?" demanded Jason.

"I am known as brother by a few of the legionnaires, and I am here because I was delivering another demigod."

"Why did you fight for us, then?"

"I made an oath to try to help you two, and three others. It was his dying wish."

"Whose?"

"Percy's. His last wish was that you, Jason, and Sylvia be protected, among others, and seeing you going to die forced my hand. You have noticed enemies dying before without cause before. That was me." he said. All I could see of him was a dark outline, with light from the entrance of the tunnel behind him.

"He is truly dead then?" Jason asked, "When I heard the new legionnaires talk about you, I had hopes that you'd be him."

"Sadly, no. I swear on the River Styx that the man you are talking of, Percy Jackson, is dead. I sat with him as he passed into the Underworld."

"How did he die?"

"He died slaying the Chimera, but in my opinion, after looking through his memories, he started dying earlier, when Gwen was murdered. Do you know who killed her?"

"No. Most people think Octavian did. Wait, you said he killed the Chimera?" I said incredulously.

"Yes. When he realized he wouldn't survive the fight, he lunged forward, impaling it as his chest was ripped open. I arrived too late to help him, only to ease his pain as his soul went to the Underworld."

"You said you had a demigod with you?" Jason asked.

"Yes. Frank, you can come out now." he said, and a bulky teenager stepped into the tunnel.

"This is Frank Zhang, son of Mars. He has my reference as a letter. You can judge my actions to see what it's worth. All the other demigods I brought have my recommendation as well."

"Who are you, really? Demigod, god, titan?"

"I am something more, and a great deal less, then a god. I have no respect for most of them, nor do I answer to them. Now, I must leave. If you see me again, it means you could die _very_ soon."

Line Break

Mystery Man's POV

"Remember the coin. Others will ask you about it, but only nod, do _not_ say anything about it. The coin might be the only thing that matters in the end." I whispered to Frank, as I passed by, "And remember, if you need help, just call. You are a part of my family, and the others will help you as much as I will."

I left, noticing the shock on Jason's face. I saw him approach Frank and say, "This is the legion he told you about. If you're gonna join, follow me. If you aren't, start walking away, and forget everything you saw here."

"My brother said I would be safe here. Is it true?"

"Yes."

Then I passed out of earshot and into the sunlight. And saw a pack of wolves bounding at me.

"Stop running!" a female voice ordered, "I just want to talk! Your way of taking demigods to the legion isn't letting me train them!"

"They do not need your teaching! They are more then capable of surviving here! That's why I brought them!" I yelled back, and ran into the woods. Once I got away from them, I snapped out my wings, and took off the ground, air whistling around me. Ha! So far, no one knows I have them, and Lupa won't know, either.

Once I was a good ways across the city, I landed and started walking. I wouldn't go well if Zeus felt something off about his domain. Then I heard someone.

"We've got you now, boy!" Then I heard a _thunk_ and a cry of pain. I turned around, and heard the voices coming from an alley a few meters ahead.

"How da ya like that? That's what ya get for destroying yer family, Dexter!" I heard a different voice say.

"I didn't do anything!" It was a young voice, probably Dexter.

"First ya no-good pop runs away as soon as he sees yer ugly face, then yer bitch mom dies, and now _we _have ta take care of ya." the same voice said, cruel and crude, "Then ya run away, like the no-good brat ya are, leeching off us!

I rounded the corner to see a fat man and woman beating up a malnourished, young, pale boy with black hair and eyes.

"You should walk away now." I said, menace filling my voice.

"Or what? You'll run away crying?" the woman said.

"Or you will not see another morning."

"Can't I just shoot 'im?" the man spoke.

"You walk away slowly, and you'll live." the woman said, as if speaking to a small child. When I didn't move, she said, "Shoot him, Henry."

The man pulled out a gun, then jerked backward as a knife flashed by, its blade catching the trigger guard, and embedded itself in the wall behind him.

I pulled out a switchblade, the only steel weapon I had, and said, "Run away now."

They charged me, and I just waited for them. The man, Fatty 1, pathetically tried to punch me, and I stabbed all the way through his hand, then lodged the switchblade, as deep as I could, into the wall.

"AHHHH." Fatty 1 cried, then Fatty 2, the woman, started to try to claw me with her nails. I took my time with her, breaking her fingers one at a time. Then I stomped on her foot, breaking all the toes at once, and crushing the bones there.

"AHHHHH-HHHHHHH" she screamed, her voice reaching an even higher pitch as I did the same with her other foot.

"Please! Let us go! You'll never see us again! I promise! We've got money!" Fatty 1 offered, still stuck against the wall.

"No. You will pay for what you've done." I said, and I started stomping Fatty 2 on the wrist, the forearm, gradually making my way to her chest, breaking as many bones as I could. I only stopped when I saw her chest no longer move.

"K-k-k-kind sir! E-everything we have, i-i-it's yours!" Fatty 1 said, stuttering in fear.

"Then I want your heart." I said, just loud enough for him to hear. I cut open his chest, grabbed a handful of something, then tore it out. It was indeed his heart, and I held it up in front of his dead face. "And now I have it."

I willed fire to ignite on my hands, and it did, cleaning off all the blood on them.

"P-P-Please don't kill me. I-I-I didn't do anything, I s-s-swear!" I saw the boy on the ground, shaking with his eyes closed.

"Don't worry, Dexter." I said, walking over and putting my hand on his shoulder. "Everything will be alright now. They will never harm you again."

"H-How? Mom's dead. Th-they said I killed her." he said, sobbing. I looked at his memories, and saw his mother killed by a large, one-eyed man, as she tried to protect him. So either a clear sighted mortal or a demigod.

"Hush now." I commanded, embracing him, "You didn't kill her. They were just lying, hurting you."

"And my dad?" asked Dexter hopefully. He had stopped shaking, and was hugging me in return.

"Your dad loves you very much. He just can't see you, as it would endanger you. Has anything been happening to you, like something out of _Doctor Who_, or the _X-Files_?" I asked.

"No."

"Don't lie to me. Your father doesn't like it if you lie."

"Umm . . . yes. I've been hearing voices in my head, and seeing ghosts." Hades then. Thanatos never had any children that I've heard of.

"Do you know about the Greek gods?" I asked. He was too thin and young for Camp Jupiter, and obviously too male for the Hunters.

"Like Hades and Apollo?"

"Yes. They're real, and you're one of their children." I said, still hugging him.

"Your crazy! They can't exist! I saw them die on TV!" he said, and pulled back, looking at me.

"No, they didn't die, and I'm not crazy." I said, laughing. "Let me show you."

"OK." He said skeptically.

"Try not to scream and run away, please." I said, as I summoned a large ball of water over my head, then evaporated it with a blast of fire. As I expected, he screamed, and passed out, but I was close enough to catch him before he hit the ground. Then I summoned more water, and healed the boy's bruises and cuts with it, before sending the water away. It splashed onto Fatty 2's body.

I should probably clean up before Dexter wakes up again.

I used fire to burn away the bodies and blood, then cradled his head is my lap, waiting for him to wake up.

He did a few minutes later, sat up, and said, "Did you just?"

Dexter pantomimed shooting fire from his hands, complete with sound effects.

I chuckled, "Yes, I did. And I did something else too. Notice something odd about your face?"

He ran a hand over it and said in amazement, "It doesn't hurt anymore!"

Then Dexter ran over and buried his head in my chest. "Thank you! Can I summon fire too?"

"Sorry, kiddo. That's _my _power. But your's is a lot cooler."

"All I can do is see ghosts. And talk to them. You can shoot fire!" he said in a whining voice.

"How 'bout being able to summon an army of indestructible skeletons?"

"What? I can do that?" he asked, this time with excitement.

"Yes, and much more as you grow up, if my guess is right." I said.

"What guess?"

"Who your father is. He's a god, and if I'm right, he's Hades, king of the dead, and lord of riches."

"Oh my god! My dad's a god!"

"Close there, kid. It's really "Oh my _gods._" It has to be plural gods." I explained.

"Why can't I see him? Why did he let me mom die?" he started crying again. I embraced him, and started rocking back and forth.

"Your father is bound by a set of idiotic laws that prevent him from doing much to help you. But I'm not. I can do whatever I want, and so can you. While the gods are generally better then anyone who could rule in there place, there annoying and arrogant. Except for a select few. Right now, you need to sleep, you look tired."

Dexter put his head in my lap, and promptly fell into a deep sleep. Now how do I rest without waking him?

AN: Dexter might be important. You guys should start putting name ideas in reviews, or else you'll see a lot or Josh's, John's, Megan's and Christy's. If you don't want to, then whatever, but any help is greatly appreciated. Also, you can only put OC on the character list once, and it should be on there at least twice.

When I read _The_ _Queen's Champion _by Anaklusmos14, I noticed how he just skipped over all the rescue scenes, something I really didn't like. If you didn't read my author's note at the end of the last chapter, read it. I do not copy ideas, only names if I really like the series, like Saracen Rue in the next chapter. All of this, barring the general Pertemis ship and the PJO series, are things I came up with before reading any Pertemis fanfics.

If I ever see someone copy me, I _will_ start trying to kill them. Please be original.


	7. Chapter 7- Martin Blake

AN: Sorry, updating might be slow for a while. I have to juggle school/college/job, robotics club/hobby, and anything by Rooster-teeth. I'm putting the slashes so you don't get a clue for how old I am. You'll just have to pick if you think I'm in per-college, college, job, or anything else.

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of.

Chapter Seven- Martin Blake

Dex's POV

I woke up the next morning, and felt something different then usually beneath my head. Harder then a pillow, but softer then a rock. Then I remembered. Someone rescued me from my aunt and uncle, told me Dad was a god, then shot fire. And I fell asleep on him.

I sat up and saw him, still, cross legged, still with his hood up, but it looked like his eyes were closed. Curiosity got the best of me as I tried to pull the hood down, but a hand shot up and grabbed my wrist. His eyes opened.

"Sorry, but I can't let you see my face. Right now, a few people are annoyed with me, and the only reason they can't find me is they don't know what I look like." he said apologetically, "I'll show you when they aren't angry anymore."

"Why are they angry?"

"I'm rescuing people like you, but they don't like that they don't know who I am. Seriously, the gods _can't_ just be happy that I'm saving there children?"

"Wait. The _gods_ are angry with you? How are you alive? I thought gods were like, all-powerful and stuff."

"Yes, they are angry, and there a lot less powerful then they'd like you to think. If you avoid them, they can't do much. Your father is one of the most powerful, and one of the few gods I respect."

"So where do I go? I don't have a family."

"Yes, you do have a family. There's a place for people like you, called Camp Half-Blood. If you go there, you'll be safe and have a new family." he said.

"Can't you just be my family?" I whined.

"Yes, I will. But you should have other friends too. Another child of Hades I've seen just wanders around, pointlessly. I'll ask him to meet you at camp. Will you go?"

"Yeah. I'll see you again, right?"

"Yes. I take my family very seriously. I won't accompany you into camp, but when you get there, you'll be put into a cabin called Hermes Cabin. Ask for Martin Blake. He's another part of my family, someone I took there a few years ago. Tell him your story, and say "Richard of York gave battle in vain." He'll understand."

"Why Hermes?"

"His cabin is where all new arrivals go. Since hes the god of travelers, everyone is welcome."

"When do we leave?"

"After breakfast. What do you want? Whats your favorite breakfast food?"

"Waffles."

"Come with me." He walked over to an apartment building, "Stay here."

Then he left, and I felt alone.

Line Break

Mystery Man's POV

I walked in the side door and went over to their kitchen, convincing everybody I worked there with the Mist. I quickly made my own kind of waffles, not the standard Bisquick ones or instant waffles, and walked out again.

"Here you go." I said as I handed them over.

"How did you make them so quickly? You were only gone for like, two minutes!" He exclaimed, and I saw the relief on his face. About what? He must be afraid of not having a family or being alone, probably the former, as his whole family died.

"Amazing what you can do if people think you work there. These are my own specialty waffles, a lot better then normal waffles, and quicker to make to."

After he poured syrup over them, he bit into one. Then his face lit up with joy.

"These are amazing! How did you make them?"

"I told you, it's my own recipe." I said as he devoured them. He must have been starving! I took my hip flask out, and gulped a little down, and hoped Dexter wouldn't notice.

"Do you drink?" he asked. Damn it. He _had_ noticed.

"No, this stuff is like a replacement for a meal. It tastes horrible, but it's a lot faster then eating, and gives you more energy."

"Can I try it?"

"No. If you do, you'll just throw up. It took me a month just to _not_ wretch it up as soon as I drank it, and it still tastes like melted rubber with cat pee all over it. And the smell is just as bad."

"Please? With a cherry on top?"

"Fine. First smell it, then see if you want to drink." I replied, holding out the flask. He took it, opened the top, and sniffed it.

"Blah!" he gasped, and started retching, "That was horrible! And you _drink it_?"

"Yep."

"You have like, an iron stomach or something." he said in amazement.

"Indeed I do. Try poking it." I suggested. He did, and his finger bounced right off.

"Ow! Your stomach is really made of iron?" he asked, surprised.

"No. I'm just really strong." I laughed.

"Oh." he said, sounding disappointed.

"Now are you ready to go?"

"Fine."

"Don't panic. This might be . . . . dizzying." I said. I summoned water and fire around me, then we were about half a mile from Camp Half-Blood.

"What was that?"

"I teleported."

"I can see_ that_!" Dexter said, "But _how_?"

"You saw I have water and fire mastery, right? Well, using them together, I can teleport anywhere that either has moisture or heat, so basically everywhere." I explained, "Now what I'm about to tell you, you can't repeat anywhere, out loud, or on paper."

I leaned in close and whispered the information into his ear, then took out a silver drachma.

"This is the coin. If anybody asks you if you have it, just nod. I need you to also swear you won't tell anybody about my powers. Just say, I swear on the River Styx not to _."

"I swear on the River Styx not to tell anybody about your powers unless it's no longer a secret, or I'm given your permission."

"Good," I said, "I walk with you until were just out of sight of the camp, then you just head up the hill towards the tree."

"Piggy-back ride?"

"Fine." I said, and bent my back while he climbed aboard.

]

I walked on for another three-eighths of a mile, then saw Half-Blood Hill a ways off.

"There you go. Just walk towards that hill. Remember the coin." I said, pointing.

Line Break

Dexter's POV

I looked behind me, and saw my new brother waving my on.

"Don't worry. You'll see me again. I promise. Remember Martin!" He said. He was like a parent, older brother, and a close friend, all rolled into one. All this time, and I forgot to ask his name. Whatever.

I headed towards the hill, sad that he couldn't come with me when I noticed something. _Many_ somethings. First was that there was a gold rug or something draped on the tree my brother pointed out earlier. Second was that it looked like a pile of snakes were wrapped around the tree. That all connected to one body.

No way. A dragon? Awesome. I crossed the street and ran up the hill, only then noticing that there was someone at the top. In armor.

"Who are you?" he/she called roughly.

"I'm Dexter!" I yelled back, "The dude with golden eyes sent me here!"

"OK!" he/she said, when I got to the top of the hill, he/she said "Follow me."

I was fairly confidant that he/she was a she at this point, and I followed her to a two story wooden house that was white with baby blue trim.

"In." she ordered, and led me to a room with a projector at one end and a screen at the other.

"Sit back and watch the video." She said, motioning to the chair at the center of the room.

The video was long, but cool. At the camp were apparently Pegasi, a lava rock wall, a chariot track, and a huge forest to play CTF in. Then it got to the gods. They were . . . not as cool. First, Hera makes Heracles insane enough to murder his own family, then _Heracles_ had to do the labors, even though Hera made him insane. Aphrodite caused the Trojan War, and the gods just sat back and watched the show. The only one who did something useful was Artemis, tracking down and killing monsters. _Really_ cool.

Then it was over, and the girl came back in, along with a guy in a wheelchair, and someone who looked suspiciously like Dionysus in the video.

"Ah, it appears Clarisse has already shown you the video. What do you think about the camp?" the wheelchair-guy said.

"It sounds pretty darn cool." I replied, "I'm guessing that's Dionysus. But who are you?"

"I am Chiron, young hero." He said, "What is your name?"

"Oh, I'm Dexter, call me Dex. Wait, your _the_ Chiron. Like the centaur who trained Achilles Chiron? That is _sweet_."

"Ha! Yes, I trained Achilles. He was a fine young man, eager to learn."

"Well, Dex, you said that the golden-eyed man brought you here. Is that correct?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, he did."

"Did you see anything about him?"

"Mr. D, don't start interrogating him now. The punk just got here." the girl, Clarisse, said.

"Fine." Mr. D replied, "I'll wait. But Zeus is becoming. . . irritated at him."

"Clarisse, give him the tour, and introduce cabin eleven to him." Chiron ordered, "He'll stay there until he gets claimed."

"Yes, Chiron. Come with me, punk."

Line Break

Dexter's POV

Clarisse walked out of the Big House, and started heading towards the cluster of buildings in the field. They looked very. . . . outlandish, with walls ranging from stone to wood to dirt, and in one case, it looked like clouds. But the coolest looking one was solidly black, with torches burning green fire at the front.

"Dex, have you seen anyone with sea-green eyes and black hair anywhere? He'd look about twenty now."

"No."

"Whatever. Worth a try. These are the cabins, punk. Right over there is where we'll end the tour." She pointed to a wood cabin with brown paint and a caduceus symbol on the side, "Each cabin represents a god or goddess."

"Why are the three over there empty?" I asked pointing to the cool cabin, a long cabin with low green walls, and a cabin decorated with lighting bolts. Of all of the cabins, these were still and silent.

"Those are the "Big Three" cabins. Zeus has the lightning bolts, Poseidon has the blue one, and Hades has the one with the torches. They weren't always empty. The daughter of Zeus, Thalia left to join the Hunters of Artemis. Nico, the only current son of Hades, mainly wanders around. And Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, went missing years ago. He hasn't come back." I heard the respect her voice had for Percy.

"Is Percy the one you mentioned earlier, with the green eyes and black hair?" I asked.

"Yeah, punk. You heard about the last Titan war in the video, right? Percy is the one who, with help from Annabeth," she sneered when she said Annabeth, "Killed Kronos, and won the war. If not for him, we'd all be dead. So be thankful, punk."

"Wouldn't he be dead by now? With all the monsters?"

"Well, the gods said he was dead, but we thought he was dead before, and then he showed up at his own funeral." she laughed, "You should've seen Annabeth's face. That was about five years ago now. Right here is the rock wall."

She stopped right in front of the wall I saw in the video, with shifting rocks, avalanches, and waterfalls of lava.

"Isn't it dangerous?"

"Not really. If they fall off or get hit by lava, it's painful, but they'll heal. Kind of motivates you to dodge. You can climb to the top if you focus on dodging, not rushing up."

"Um, ok."

"Now it's time to show you the stables." She led me to a long row of open-air stables with winged horses inside of them.

"These are our Pegasi. Their like horses, but are stronger, faster, have more endurance. . ."

"It looks like they also have wings." I pointed out.

"Brilliant, Holmes. Pretty soon, you'll also see some of them are even different colors." she said sarcastically.

"Just sayin'."

"Off in that direction are the woods. If we go in today, you'll probably get eaten by something, and I _really_ don't want to have to defend you."

"So what now?"

"Now we head to you temporary cabin, eleven."

I followed her back to the cabin with the caduceus, and she opened the door.

"Hermes cabin, welcome the new punk," She started, then looked at me, "What's your name?"

"Dexter, call me Dex."

"The new punk Dex." She finished.

Line Break

Dexter's POV

"Hey, Dex" said a blond-haired guy with what looked like a twin next to him, "I'm Travis Stoll, and this is my brother, Connor."

"Wait, _Stoll_? Like you stole something? That's funny coming from the god of thieves." I replied.

"Yes, Stoll, we do steal stuff, and it's always good to have new campers." replied Connor, "All part of the fun of being the Hermes Cabin."

"Right now, any bunk that doesn't have anything around it is open." Travis added.

"So come in and make yourself at home. Not you Clarisse." said Connor, like the twins were finishing each other's thoughts. "You remember the last time we pranked you."

"Hmm, I also remember a certain pair of Hermes punks running away and screaming like little girls." she replied.

I went to the nearest open bunk, which was about three-fourths of the way down, and sat down.

"Hey," I said, turning to a camper next to me, "You know who a guy called Martin Blake is?"

"You asked?" I looked around me and saw a tall teenager about sixteen or seventeen years old walk over, "You new?"

"Yeah, and a brother of mine told me to ask for you." I replied.

"Ah, _that_ brother. Did he tell you something to say to me?" He came up and sat next to me.

"Yeah."

"Whisper it in my ear. No one else should hear."

"Richard of York gave battle in vain." I whispered, and he stiffened beside me.

"Hm. You are very powerful. What's your name?"

"Dexter, Dexter Vex."

"Well, our brother thinks you're a son of the big three. Can you guess who?"

"Well, he said Hades. Do you know his name? I never asked."

"No one knows. For some odd reason, we all forget to ask, and we all call him brother. He has a way of instilling. . . loyalty."

"So you're a part of our family too?" I asked, hopeful.

"Yeah kid, I am, along with about twelve others now." replied Martin, chuckling.

"Can you introduce me?" I asked, still hopeful.

" 'Course I am, Dex. You can't just have bros and sises you don't meet. First one's actually the guy you were just talking to, Vincent."

"Hey, Vincent!" He called and the guy with black hair and blue eyes came back, "This is Dex, our new brother."

"You have the coin?" Vincent asked, "You know what to do?"

I nodded, just like _he_ told me to.

"Good! Welcome to the family." exclaimed Martin, and bear-hugged me. Then, when he stepped back, Vincent did the same.

"Glad to have you with us." Vincent said, and patted me on the back, "You will have fun here. _He_ never lied about anything to anyone so far."

AN: This was kind of a filler to introduce Martin, and talk about the coin. _He_ will always be the Mystery Man. He'll get a name next chapter. Also, should I have Frank play a real part here, or no?

Reviews are always welcome. I'm writing this for _you_ guys/girls/trans/whatever. If you have a complaint, just say what you want fixed, or if you have names for OC characters.


	8. Chapter 8- My True Family

**AN: I just realized that I'm taking this story in a completely different direction. I changed this chapter to make my OC's less dynamic. But I'm also making a different story that branches away from this, called The Golden Eyed Swordsmen Re-Write.**

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of. I also do not own anything I make references to.

Chapter Eight-

Mystery Man's POV

After I saw Dexter walk over the hill, I teleported back to San Fransisco, hopefully where they would show up.

"Bram! You're back!" I heard, and saw a girl, nineteen years old, with red hair and green eyes run up. And crush me with a hug. Arin.

"Yes, Arin. I'm back." I managed to gasp out.

"I take it you brought him there?" said another person, Saracen. Saracen had black hair and silver eyes, and was eighteen years old.

"Yes, and on my way back, I had to rescue another. That's why I'm late."

"Better late then never." said my third companion, Gwen. She was about thirteen, with brown hair and brown eyes. When I discovered her, I expanded my oath to Percy to include her too. She looked exactly the same as when she died, about four years ago. But, the catch is she doesn't remember, one of the requirements for rebirth is that you take a swim in the Lethe.

"Ready to move again?" I asked

"Where to now?" Gwen questioned.

"Big gang in New York. We need to . . . _take care_ of them before they do anything else." I replied.

"Then let's go." Arin said.

I teleported us all to New York. Then my memories sent me back in time, three years ago.

Flashback

Three Years Ago

Bram's POV

I was walking through Central Park, when I heard someone screaming,

"You aren't real! You can't be real."

I started running to the voice, hearing other, more slithery voices as well.

"Yessssss, girl, we are real, and you will be tasssssty."

I turned onto a street, and saw a fifteen year old girl with black hair and silver eyes backing away from six dracaenae. So she's the one I was sent to find. I closed in and shouted,

"Get back! You don't know what you're dealing with."

I spun, and unsheathing my first Stygian Iron short sword, and blocked the stab of the closest monster. Then I drew me second, impaled it into the monster, spun, and kicked another back. I took the opening, and after retrieving my first blade, I threw myself at the remaining dracaenae. One of them was stabbed, another had it's chest sliced open. I turned, stomping on the monster I kicked earlier, making it dissolve. The remaining two dracaenae tried to charge me, but they both got a blade in there throat.

I turned, to the girl, who had fallen backward. I couldn't miss this opportunity.

"Come with me if you want to live." I said, and extended my glove encased hand.

"Wh-What? What were they? Who are you? What's happene-" she started to say, before her eyes rolled back and she fainted. She almost looked like Artemis, if Artemis had black hair. . . . I stopped that train of thought before it went any further. I was here for one reason, and thinking of the beautiful moon goddess wasn't it. Ever.

I lept forward and caught her before she hit the ground, and took her to the nearest hotel. Amazing what the Mist can do. . .

Line Break

Still in Flashback

Saracen's POV

I sat up on a bed, and thought, oh good, it was a dream. No snakes trying to kill me and no guy jumping in and killing them. . . .right? Then I noticed I was in a hotel room, with the guy sitting on the other bed, completely silent.

"Who are you? What happened?" I asked timidly.

"What happened is that some monsters were chasing you, called dracaenae." He had golden eyes, and his hood was still pulled up.

"OK, I'm pretty sure monsters are for fairy tales."

He snorted, "I wish. A question: Do you think I'm insane, or do you trust me?"

"Um, trust you, I guess. Who are you? And how did you kill the draco-monster-things?"

"I am someone who doesn't exist, and I must have it remain so. I killed the monsters with this." He pulled out a sword and tossed it at me, and to my surprise I caught it by the hilt, and saw a word on the blade. Shadow. . .

"What is this? And why is the word Shadow on the blade?"

"Ah, you can read it? This is a short sword, made in a Greek style. It is made out of Stygian Iron, one of the few metals able to kill a monster. It has the word Shadow on the blade because that is it's name. My other blade is called Storm. But be careful, it is _very _sharp."

"Wait. Greek style? And why don't you use something like a gun?"

"Yes, Greek style. Greek style sword fighting is a common form of fighting for people like us. I don't use a gun, because the more of a physical injury you deal, the longer it takes to re-form."

"People like us? Re-form? What?"

"Just sit down. I'll explain it all."

Line Break

Still in Flashback

Saracen's POV

"So I'm a daughter of some god. Are you?"

"I am, as I said before, something that needs to be kept secret. Anyways, children of gods have powers. Usually, they are sent to one of three places. Camp Half-Blood, the Hunters of Artemis, or Camp Jupiter."

"Jupiter? Like the planet?"

"Jupiter, another name for Zeus, but Roman. Camp Jupiter is a camp that follows the Roman side of gods and goddesses."

"So gods have two different forms? One Greek, one Roman?"

"Yes. More to the point, has anything really weird happened to you, anytime you felt different?"

"No, not really. The only time I felt like that was when my friends and I went to a party. My friends were all exhausted by the end, but I still felt full of energy. Like, really energetic."

"Wait. How late was it when you left?"

"About ten, or eleven. Why?"

"I thought she faded. . ." I heard him whisper with awe, "If I'm guessing right,you aren't the daughter of a god, but something older then a god, a Titan. Titans ruled before the gods overthrew them, imprisoning most of them, even the ones that didn't fight. You are the daughter of Selene, the embodiment of the moon. In the night, dark, or anytime you can see the moon, you are stronger and faster. Potentially _much_ stronger and _much _faster. If you joined the Hunters. . . "

"What?"

"Nothing. If you want to stay with me, then follow. I offer you a choice." He held out his hands, a red pill in one, a blue pill in the other, "You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

"Seriously? You're quoting _Matrix_ now?" I asked, amused. He laughed aloud.

"Sorry, I just can't resist that. I say it every time. Anyways, the blue pill is just a sleeping drug with the smallest bit of Lethe. You would forget the past two days. I would not exist anymore, and you can get on with your life. Or you take the red pill and come with me. Either way, I'm not staying here for long. Which is it, red or blue?"

"Red." I took it from his hand and dry-swallowed it, "What does it do?"

"Absolutely nothing. I only had one, for show, and you swallowed it. Now I have to make another." He complained.

"Oh," I said, feeling foolish, "What was it made of?"

"Glass. You might feel it in a few days. It might be somewhat . . . . tingly," He explained, "Follow me, then. And prepare to be trained."

Line Break

Bram's POV

We re-appeared in down town New York City, and I started speaking,

"A gang around here is smuggling things and capturing people, selling them as cheap labor, or as slaves if there woman. The last time I was here, I got the location of where a few of 'em will be meeting in a few hours. You guys have the blades?"

Arin was the first to respond, "Yeah, bro."

"Yep." Gwen said.

"Yes." finished Saracen, her voice humming with the anticipation of a fight.

"Good. Now, what have you been doing the past few days while I was gone?" I asked.

"Well, we killed the monsters you sent us for, then just hung out." Gwen replied.

"That's it?" I asked, not believing them.

"Well. . ." Arin started.

"We saw some kids getting beaten on. Now the population has dropped by about, oh, fifteen or so." said Gwen, satisfied with there actions. Saracen merely nodded, confirming everything.

"Good job, then."

"I just can't stand that stuff. . ." Arin said, and another memory took hold of me.

Flashback

One Year and Six Months Ago

Bram's POV

"AH," I heard, then felt someone crash into me from behind, then all I saw was a flash of red before I toppled over.

"Sorry!" said the girl who ran into me. She looked to be around seventeen, with red hair and dark green eyes.

"It's ok." I replied and she ran off again. The I saw a large man with one eye look after her, and grew a bit more worried. No mortals get followed by Cyclopes, and no gods get followed either, at least, not for long.

I walked over, lit my hand on fire, then punched the Cyclops right in the gut, burning my way through. Then I ran as people started screaming, including a policeman.

"You there! With the lighter and bug spray! Freeze!"

I do not have time for this. I don't know if the girl was my objective, but it sure as hell isn't he policeman. I started running, using the Mist to bend the minds of the mortals until they just saw me as a jogger.

For the next few hours, I wandered around the small city, but my thoughts were interrupted by a voice I heard earlier.

"So you're mugging me."

"No. We're killin' ya, little girly."

I walked over to see what looked like three Laestrygonians and a few mortals facing the girl from earlier, who didn't look concerned at the number of people she was facing. She had headphones around her neck, and it looked like she just took them off.

"Hm." she said, amused.

Then she whipped around and kicked the closest person square in the stomach, who bent over, gasping for air. In that time, her headphones became unplugged, and I could here what she was listening to.

_they see you as small and helpless_**_  
><em>**_they see you as just a child_**_  
><em>**_surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild_

She pulled back the kick, and used her back foot to spring forward, punching the bent over-guy in the throat. And stepped back as two more guys ran at her, the Laestrygonians staying back for now.

_prepare for your greatest moments_**_  
><em>**_prepare for your finest hour_

One of the guys stumbled back as she managed to kick him in the throat, and the other one when she fell back onto her hands, and kicked out with both feet, slamming them right into his stomach.

_the dream that you've always dreamed is_**_  
><em>**_suddenly about to flower_

She used the guy's stomach as a floor, running her feet up it as she flipped back up, and met the charge of the last guy, punching him hard on the gut._we are lightning_**_  
><em>**_straying from the thunder_**_  
><em>**_miracles of ancient wonder_

Then the Laestrygonians got angry and started running at her. _this will be the day we've waited for_**_  
><em>**_this will be the day we open up the door_

One of them was met with a shove that she used to spin, using the back of her foot to catch him in the side of the neck. A giant with a "Joe Bob luvs Babycakes" tattoo tried to grab her, but she spun behind the first Laestrygonian, so Joe Bob grabbed him instead. They aren't exactly very smart.

_i don't wanna hear your absolution_**_  
><em>**_hope your ready for a revolution_

After that, the remaining giant grabbed her around the neck, ignoring her hits.

"How 'bout you put the lady down, and we talk about this like civilized Canadians!" I shouted. They threw her aside and ran at me.

_welcome to a world of new solutions_**_  
><em>**_welcome to a world of bloody evolution_

As they were charging, two of them disintegrated as my throwing knives found their throats.**_  
><em>**

"Little demigod! I eat you! It be fun!" shouted Joe Bob, and ran at me, alone.

_in time-your heart will open minds_**_  
><em>**_a story will be told_**_  
><em>**

I blocked his first punch, spun him around, and shoved him away.

_and victory is in a simple soul_

In an almost choreographed move, my knife hit him just as the song hit "soul" and I walked over to the IPod on the ground. Hmm, called _This'll be the Day_ by Jeff and Casey William.

"Its alright. Their gone now."

"All that training, and they just grabbed me. I lost. . . . ." She trailed off, sobbing. I ran over and put an arm around her.

"Hey, hey. You got most of them. You're a really good fighter. What's your name?"

"Arin. Arin Torchwood." I don't know why she wasn't running away. I guess she trusted me after I rescued her.

"This might be a bit crazy, but I think you are the daughter of a god."

"What? I don't believe in God." she had disbelief etched all over her face.

"Not God. _Gods,_ plural. Like Greek gods."

"Umm, like Apollo and stuff?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, you are crazy." I grinned, then quoted again.

"Come with me if you want to live."

"No! You can't take me anywhere!" What caused that? She jumped up, then tried to punch me. I easily avoided the blows, and started backing up as she pressed forward. She was a _very_ good martial artist, as I saw earlier, but I was the best, or at least one of them. Once she tried kicking me like she kicked the first guy earlier, and I saw my opening. I punched her hard on the inside joint of her knee, forcing it to close, making her off balance. Then I spun her around and put her in a Full Nelson.

"I really don't want to hurt you, and I won't force you to go anywhere. Just, if you want to be even better of a warrior, you will come with me. If you don't, say so, but know you won't remember any of this, you'll just wake up in your bed tomorrow." I whispered to her, then released her. She spun around and asked.

"How will you do that? And how did you beat me?"

"Do you have a while to talk?"

"Judging by the fact that right now I'm supposed to be in a boarding school, I have plenty of time before they care enough to look for me."

"Are you talking about how I beat you, or how you could become better?"

"Both."

"Well, I studied martial arts from around the world for most of my life, and you can become better by training with me. It'll be fun, and since it appears you don't like the boarding school, I offer you a new life."

"You sound a little crazy."

"The even crazier thing is that all the Greek gods exist."

"Now you are really insane. That just isn't possible. How could we not know about them?"

"Ugg, everyone says that. But I can prove it." I said, sighing.

"Oh, yeah? How?" she asked, challenging me.

"Like this!" I created a ring of fire around me, and inside that ring, I was encased in a bubble of water.

"Now I think _I'm_ crazy."

"Yes, you are. But you're a type of crazy that lets you attack, how many, seven or eight guys, bare-handedly?"

"Yep."

"Will you come with me? Either you can get a new life, a life with purpose, with me, or you can go back to the boarding school you hate, and stay there for years." I asked. A lot of things gambled on her answer.

"If you say it that way, I'll come with you. But if you're lying. . ."

"Trust me. I'm not"

End of Flashback

**AN: I also took out the reference thing. If you want the reference thing, you have to look on the new story.**

**Reviews are always appreciated! **


	9. Chapter 9- The Hunt

**AN: This chapter used to by a lot different. I made a separate story that goes differently in this chapter, and following chapters. It's on my profile if you want to read.**

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of. I also do not own anything I make references to.

Chapter Nine-

Bram's POV

"So this is the place?" asked Arin. We were near a large abandoned warehouse, one that looked overgrown with ivy and weeds.

"Yep. Big gang meeting, led by one John Pope. A good shot, leader, and cook, according to the gang member. Arin, you get inside, and wait for them. Saracen, be ready in case she needs help. Gwen, look for any trying to run away. I'll be back-up for anyone who might need me."

"Got it, P-" Gwen was the first to respond, but was blocked by Saracen's hand over her mouth.

"Ready!" said Arin, and Saracen simply nodded.

"Watch your tongue, Gwen. We don't need . . . that . . . to happen again." They all knew who, or what I was, and Saracen zealously protected the secret.

"Oh, and Saracen? Remember, only your switchblades work on them. There just mortals."

"Ugg. . . can't you just forget about it by now?" A while ago, when she was backed into an alley by a group of mortals, she tried to slice them up with her twin short scythes. It didn't work, and we were all laughing by the time she thought to use her switchblade I gave her.

Line Break

Arin's POV

I walked into the warehouse, and noticed a few things. One, it _was_ being used by someone. What looked like canes, beer, cigarettes were all piled around among other things. Two was that there was already someone here, facing away from me. I took cover behind what looked like a smuggled Indian rug before he turned around and waited. And waited. And waited. To occupy my time, I went through what Bram and his unconventional teachers taught me. Look for exits, look for sight-lines, look for hiding places. In doing so, I saw a raised platform at one end, and saw a flash of black and red hair as it was covered by a hood. Then the gang walked in.

The one I took to be Pope had an unbuttoned shirt, long hair, a small beard and a necklace with teeth on it.

"Well, kids. Sit down." he ordered, "Margaret, you keep watch."

A girl in her twenties with blond hair sat down by the exit. She looked at the other gang members with hatred.

"Grab yourselves a beer. We might be here for a while." he said.

"Even in the middle of goddamn nowhere the beer's still cold." one of the other members said.

" 'Course it's cold, Cueball. We're not savages." Pope replied, "Now, Dwight got himself drunk and killed last night."

"Good riddance." said another gangster, "He never did much."

"Billy, you may be my brother, but I might have to put a bullet in you for that." Pope said quietly, "But it looks like we might have a problem. Or some fun, like with Margaret."

He took out a revolver and pointed it at me, "Now walk out slowly, or there won't be much left to clean up."

Oh, shit. I ran out and got the one they called Margaret in a headlock, with my switchblade pressed up against her throat.

"Now, what's a young gal like you doing out? It's late, and out there its not very safe." Cueball mocked. Then I threw it. All the switchblades were balanced for throwing, and it hit Pope's pistol, knocking it away.

"Try to keep her alive." Billy said, and Margaret elbowed me in the stomach, then spun me and shoved me forward. I fell over, my hands scrambling for a weapon as I started to get up. Then Cueball was there.

"Hey, look at her! She's already bent over!" he said, grabbing my arm. Big mistake. Using my other arm, I grabbed a cane and smashed it against his head. It made a sound like a coconut and he fell, groaning.

I flipped the cane, and it felt like a longer stick, a little longer then what someone would use in Kali, Filipino martial arts.

"Give up, or we'll put an end to your little operation."

"I'm not alone." I replied, "Saracen!"

Saracen dropped down next to me, and P- no, _Bram_ crashed a car through the side of the warehouse.

Saracen took out her scythes, Crescent and Moon. They were a beautiful weapons, the blade was the shape of it's namesake, a crescent, and it was made out of silver, with a dull shining black shaft. A few rubys decorated the shaft, and she started using them like batons.

"Saracen you know the blade won't touch them. . ." I nodded to the gang who were currently dodging Bram's truck.

"Yes, the _blade_ won't." she said, and charged. I was right behind her, and left the first one for her. The second one, with _Dwayne_ tattooed on his arm, was mine.

He swung his bat down, and I used the cane to block it, grabbed the bat, and yanked. He was jerked froward, his back completely open to my cane. I did the most lethal option, and swung for the neck, cracking the vertebrae there, then the head, knocking him unconcious if he wasn't already. After I swung the cane away from him, I felt it hit something, and heard a scream of pain.

Another gang member was clutching his nose, obviously broken, and backed up slowly, while Billy took his place, a bat and knife in his hands.

"Yer, gonna pay, girly." He said, and swung at me. I ducked away, then hit his knife hand with my cane, forcing him to release it. I hooked it onto my foot and waited for him. Billy ran forward, his bat high. He quickly stumbled when I kicked the knife up, hitting his face, and making a little cut there. Then my cane hit him in the solar plexus, breaking it off.

"So, Ary, are you quite done?" Bram asked with amusement, Saracen right beside him.

"Yep. Ready to go?"

"Yes. I have to take ask Margaret whether she wants to join the Hunters, and you three," he gestured to Gwen, Saracen, and I, "Still need to finish the Niten-ryu course. Go there now, and prepare. I need to reveal myself soon, and I need you to be ready. Keep vigilant though. I feel like something's coming. Something big."

Line Break

Bram's POV

Margaret was still on the floor, groaning after she was glanced by the car.

"You have three choices. Leave now, die, or come with me for a while." I said ominously.

"Kill me, then. I have nothing left to live for. I didn't in the gang, and I sure as hell don't now." she replied, surprising me.

"Are you sure?" I asked, shocked.

"Fuck yea, I'm sure!" she shouted.

"Very well." I whispered to myself, the walked up behind her and snapped her neck. Mostly painless. I walked over and retrieved Arin's knife. She'll need it soon. I'm glad I don't have to sneak into Artemis's camp again.

Line Break

I teleported to a forest, up in Canada, where I immediately felt monsters, and heard shouts.

"That's not good." I reached out, and brought Arin, Gwen, and Saracen to me.

"Keep firing!" I heard a familiar goddess shout. Speak of the devil, and he, or _she_ will appear. But it didn't sound like the fight was going well, and so I ran over, and saw the entire Hunt squaring off against a hundred-fifty plus monsters. Never a dull moment, I thought as I drew both Storm and Shadow, and ran at the monsters from behind

The first victim was a hellhound, stabbed in the back while the second victim, an unarmored dracaenae, was sliced in half. Ah, it felt good to be covered in monster dust again.

The monsters started to take notice of me as I moved through there ranks, my swords ablaze with green fire. A Canadian ran at me, only to have his club light on fire. He stopped, and was slammed into by the Cyclops right behind him, sending them both crashing into a phalanx of dracaenae, killing them all, and clearing my left side, for the while. How did this many monsters group together? This is an army!

To my left and right, my sisters were cutting through the monsters. Crescent and Moon sliced through the enemy like wheat, Gwen was surrounded by what looked like dracaenae sized torches, and Arin was spinning through them, punching, with Celestial Bronze knuckles reinforcing her fists.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" I was laughing maniacally, "Who's next?"

I saw a club start to come down on one of my sisters, and hit her backwards, breaking bones.

"NO!" I yelled, "NO ONE hurts my family!"

I began to cut through them with new intensity, slashing hellhounds into shadow, Cyclops into dust, and saw my vision start to become red. Then I saw the drakon. Ha! It's in for a surprise.

I ran to it, dodging the acid it spit at me. When I was close enough, I shot a burst of fire down it's throat. It reared up, and I took the opportunity to run to it's side, and climb up, using Strom and Shadow like ice picks. When I got to the top, I made my way to the head.

As I did, the Hunters picked off the remaining monsters, and were backing away from the drakon. When I was standing atop the head, I bent down, and lighting my swords on fire, I stabbed them, as deep as I could, into the drakons eyes. It's body dissolved, leaving my kneeling on top of a hollow shell.

Line Break

Artemis's POV

He was standing on top of the drakon, flaming swords over his shoulders, his eyes glowing, and his cloak swirling. Even _I_ didn't want to fight it, and it took him less then a minute to kill it. How?

"Who are you?" Thalia called anger in her voice, "And why aren't you bowing, male?"

"I bow to no man or woman. And especially not to a god." he replied. A voice that had power, with hatred and loss barely beneath the surface. But it didn't sound angry, or even slightly out of breath. He turned to the side, which was obscured by the carcass, and spoke in a much softer voice.

"Bring the others back for now."

"I will take you back to Olympus!" I yelled, furious at the male who snuck into _my_ camp.

"Ha!" he seemed greatly amused, "You won't be able to force me there. But how about a wager?"

"What?" I asked, my voice seething with rage. What did he mean I couldn't force him?

"I challenge you to three competitions. The first we hunt, the second we fight, and the third we shoot. Whoever wins the most, two out of three, wins. If I win, you let me leave in peace. If you are triumphant, I will go to Olympus without a fight." He dares to challenge me to a hunt? Who does he think he is?

"I accept, _boy_." I yelled back, and the other hunters started laughing. This'll be easy. I whispered to Thalia. "Find the "others" _he_ mentioned. Bring them here."

"Let's see. There are Caribou in these parts, right? The first one to kill one and bring it back wins. Have a horn signal the start, and when it ends."

"Pheobe? You signal." she blew a hunting horn, and we both raced off into the forest. _He_ was not going to come even close to winning this. I found a set of tracks, and started running after them. This quickly? _He_ was probably just stumbling around the forest.

I entered a clearing, with several Caribou grazing on snow-covered grass. I drew my bow, and knocked back an arrow, but they all ran off, startled by a hunting horn that just sounded. How?

I ran back to the camp, to see him carrying a Caribou, a large one, slung over his shoulders. It must've been heavy, but he showed no strain.

"It looks like I win this one, Artemis. Better luck next time." he said condescendingly, "In all fairness, I should've given you a head start."

"Ready to fight?" I asked, rage filling my voice.

"Hell yes."

Line Break

Bram's POV

I drew Shadow, my left hand blade, and left Storm in it's sheath.

"Powers or no?" I asked. I could see the rage in every line in her body. She wanted to hurt me physically. So probably no powers.

"No powers. We'll see how good you really are, _boy_." she made the word into an insult.

"Well, _Pheobe_, start the match." I said.

I heard the horn and just waited as Artemis drew her hunting knives, my hand over Storm. When she ran at me, I drew it, slashing straight up in an icepick grip, Shadow in a standard hammer grip. She crossed her knives to block, and I sliced her in the arm with Shadow.

"Oh, _come on_, Artemis," I taunted her, "This is _too easy_."

"Watch your mouth, _boy,_ or I'll cut off your tongue. Actually, I think I'll cut off your tongue anyways."

Then she charged me, knives flashing. I blocked a swipe aimed at my face, and the other, aimed at my leg, then went on the attack, my swords swinging. She blocked every blow with ease. What? This should be _easy_ for me! Then I realized I was still using Ancient Greek sword-fighting, the style Artemis knew inside and out.

"Ha! Your good at this. At least, your good at _Greek_." I said, and sheathed Storm and Shadow, crouching in an Asian technique from the sixteen-hundreds.

"What, not even drawing your weapons? Giving up from your pathetic excuse for a fight?" She was taunting me now, and I just smiled.

"Why don't you come and find out? We all know you _l__ove_ chasing men." I mocked back, and laughed as her face turned red.

And when she charged, I drew one of my favorite weapons, Light. It was a golden katana, two-handed Japanese style, one of the weapons Miyamoto Musashi taught people to wield. I swept up again, and Artemis had to jump back.

"What is _that_?" she asked, and I pulled out it's sister blade, Darkness. Darkness was a Stygian Iron wakizashi, the other weapon Musashi had, completing my ability to use _Niten Ichi_, the technique he created.

"These are Light and Darkness." I said, and attacked, bringing Light arcing towards her head, while Darkness waited to block her attack. Lucky I did, as after she ducked Light, she tried to stab me with both knives, before being blocked by a swipe from Darkness. I pressed the attack, using sweeping, powerful blows from my swords. Every time she tried to block, her knives were smashed aside, and every time she went to attack, she had to roll away from another blow. I started laughing at her, which only got her more enraged. I could see this was a style that completely confused her. She then just ran at me, blocking Darkness and ducking Light, when I simply dropped it on her, then drew a throwing knife, holding it at her throat as she held her hunting knife at my stomach.

"I win." I said.

"How? I have a knife at your gut. I win."

"But I have a knife at your jugular, a fatal injury, whereas I will always survive a stab in the stomach. If you'd like, I'll cut your jugular while you stab my gut, then see who dies first, or in your case, falls unconscious from ichor loss." I said.

"I'd rather not." she admitted, and motioned of the the side. "But I have something you don't, _boy._"

Thalia walked up with Gwen at arrow-point.

"Clever. But what's to prevent Gwen from lighting the bow on fire? If you do kill her, what's going to stop me from massacring the Hunt? You'll be unconscious from blood loss."

"Nothing. You won't take the chance though." she said, smirking.

"You're right. Although, this wouldn't capture me, if I cared. Gwen?" I called. Immediately, Thalia's arrow light on fire, along with most of the rest of the Hunt's arrows.

"You can stop now." I said again, and the Hunters arrows went out. "See? I swear on the River Styx I will come to Olympus without a fight if you let Gwen, Arin, and Saracen go, and don't hunt them."

"Fine. Let her go." Artemis ordered. We removed out blades from each other's throat and stomach, then stood up.

"Gwen? I have to get you away from here. You know where." I called, and in a mix of water and fire, she disappeared, along with Arin and Saracen, who were hiding in the woods.

"Finished saying your last good-byes? Lets go, _boy_." Artemis ordered. She grabbed me roughly by the arm, and we flashed to Olympus.

**AN: I made a copy of this story up to chapter nine. It's going to split off in this chapter, going in a non-guardian, non-Pertemis direction.**

**Reivews are always appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 10- The Return

**AN: Remember, there will never be any Primordials in this fanfic. I don't like them.**

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of. I also do not own anything I make references to.

Chapter Eleven- The Return

Zeus's POV

"Why have you called this council, Artemis?" I demanded.

"I have captured the golden eyed male."

"What? You brought him here, I'm guessing?"

"Yes. Come out here, _boy_."

"You do not order me to do anything. I swore to come here, but no more." a new voice said, one that held power. A man in a green cloak with the hood pulled up walked out from behind Artemis's throne, a sword in each of his hands.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Many of you have guesses. I signed notes with the first letter of my name, P."

"Perseus?" Poseidon gasped.

"Wouldn't you like that, Poseidon? I will tell you if you all beat me in a fight."

"Twelve fights in a row?"

"No. One on twelve. No godly forms, powers are welcome. You are removed by a potentially fatal blow withheld. No drawn weapons at the start. Agreed?"

"Pitiful scum! You dare challenge all of us at once?"

"Yeah, I would. Especially considering I beat Artemis less then half an hour ago. Do you accept, or are the arrogant Olympians to cowardly to fight me?"

"We accept." I growled. I will kill this uppity boy.

"We start thirty seconds from now. _Exactly _thirty seconds."

Slowly, the seconds ticked by. _He_ sheathed his swords, and held his palms out at each other. Then I felt the time pass.

As soon as time was up, a stream of water shot out of one hand, and a river of fire came out of the other. They impacted right in between his hands, creating _very _thick steam. So thick, I couldn't see.

Line Break

Bram's POV

With the steam thick enough to hide me, I threw a knife at Apollo's throne, where I felt he didn't get up. "Dead."

Then I ran to his throne, seeing him with wide eyes, and my knife less then a millimeter from his throat.

Apollo's was the furthest left of the thrones, so I went to the next, Ares's, and tossed a piece of metal at it, it bounced off with an echoing clang.

"He's at my throne!" I heard Ares shout, and he ran out of the steam, straight into my sword.

"Dead." And then there were ten. The next throne was Dionysus's, who hadn't even gotten up. I held my sword to his throat. "Dead."

Then, walking to Hermes throne, a silver eyed goddess blocked me.

"Idiot boy." She snarled, and charged me. I backed up, using manipulating the steam to make it seem like I was running, then waited for her to pass, and punched her solidly in the stomach. "Dead."

"Dammit!" I had to duck as Hermes "lazer beam" mode went over my head, and crashed into Artemis. Then Hermes himself ran out, tripping over Artemis. These gods, not very smart. The angrier you get an enemy, the easier they are to fight.

"Dead." I said as I held my sword to his throat, as he was on the floor. The middle thrones were Zeus's and Hera's, side by side. Hera, being a more pacifistic goddess, was just sitting, waiting for her children to get me. It was child's play to sneak up behind her throne.

"Dead. Hey, Zeus, I got your wife!" I yelled, then ducked as a lightning bolt smashed into Zeus's own throne. Time to gather as many Olympians as possible to fall prey to my throwing knives. As soon as Zeus ran up, flanked by Demeter and Hephaestus, I started throwing, rotating my blades to the hilt would hit, not the blade.

"Dead, Dead, and Dead." I called as all three of them got a hilt in the throat.

I walked over to Aphrodite's throne. She was just sitting there, not moving.

"Why, hello." She said, charmspeak in her words.

"Dead." I called as she to got hit with a knife. She wasn't really the fighting type. And without commands, charmspeak was useless.

That left only Athena and Poseidon. I waved my hand, moving the steam to the far edges of the room, and saw the two of them. They were standing back to back, weapons ready.

"Who's first?" I called mockingly, and they both ran forward. However, Poseidon was faster, so he got to me first, and tried to hit me with a fist of water. I responded with a wall of fire, evaporating it, then jumped through the resulting steam, lighting Storm and Shadow on fire as I drew them. I usually didn't actually use most of my abilities. Knowledge was power, and the less they knew, the better.

As I emerged, I saw Poseidon pointing his trident at me, and a river of water shot out. Then froze as we wrestled for control over it. I was going to lose, but all I needed was to buy time, as I ran underneath the water, and started swinging. Poseidon let the water crash down, and was busy trying to deflect my barrage of attacks. A trident was a mostly offensive weapon, with range and power. I, however, was inside it's length, where it couldn't be used properly. Then another weapon almost killed me: Athena's spear. That was a problem. And I had a solution.

I threw Storm at Poseidon, and Shadow blindly backwards. I bought me a second, all that I needed to draw a hunting knife, and hold it to Poseidon's throat.

"Dead." I declared, then dropped, and rolled to the side as Athena tried to stab me. My right hand closed around Storm, and I somersaulted back up to my feet in time to deflect her spear. Time to get in close.

Keeping her spear to the side, I ran forward, directly towards Aegis, and hooked my knife around the side, opening her guard. Then, with Storm held to her stomach, I said a final word.

"Dead."

"But you wouldn't do that, would you, _Perseus_?" Athena said, a smirk on her face.

"Perseus wouldn't. But I am not Perseus. I AM PONTUS." I yelled, and shoved her backward. "If you want proof, I can stab you."

"Then do it. Prove you aren't Perseus." she gasped.

"As you wish." I said, then pushed my hunting knife into her, but making sure not to hit any vital organs. "Good enough?"

She was too busy screaming to reply, so I turned to the Olympians, who all had outrage etched on there features.

"You dare harm an Olympian?" Zeus roared, coupled with an Apollo saying, "You're Pontus? But you faded. All of the Primordials are either dead or asleep!"

"Yes, I dare. But I can heal her. If you don't let me, I give Apollo a fifty-fifty chances of curing it successfully."

"Do it. And maybe you'll live." Zeus threatened.

"I will. But you _do not _threaten me." I responded, and walked over to where Athena was still on the floor. My hands glowed as I sealed her wound.

"And why don't I?" Zeus asked.

"This is why." I said, and I pulled out my secret weapon, a Desert Eagle .50 cal. "This is no mortal gun. Each round is an incendiary Imperial Gold bullet. Except, instead of regular mortal incendiaries, these are filled with Greek Fire. Any one of these bullets will go through you skull and quite literally melt your brain. Then, of course, the Imperial Gold will explode, tearing your head apart."

I watched there eyes go wide, and Ares say, "That's quite a gun, punk."

"Yes, it is. While I'm quite sure you'll survive it, even gods aren't capable of growing a new brain. Now, I will answer one question, truthfully and honestly, or else you'll just keep chasing me." I said, my eyes narrowing. I already knew what they would ask, and what they would say afterword. They would want to know who I am, then try to limit my power in some way.

The gods argued over this for a while, then Athena spoke up. "Who are you, really?"

"I would say I am Pontus, Primordial of the Ocean, but that isn't true. And the time for my secrecy is over." I reached up, and pulled down my hood, exposing my face.

"How? The Chimera killed you! Hades felt your soul enter the Underworld! I thought you were dead!" Zeus shouted, while Poseidon started crying and laughing.

"My soul did enter the Underworld."

Flashback

Almost Four Years Ago

Percy's POV

Before I died, I saw a man, a man in a cowled, dark green cloak, appear out of the forest. He looked at my chest, and shook his head,

"There is nothing I can do. The cuts are too deep, and many. You've maybe twenty minutes left at most."

"Please, try to protect my friends."

"Who are they? I take it you mean demigods."

"Nico, Thalia, Jason, Dakota, Sylvia." I coughed out.

"What about the girl, Annabeth?"

"No. . . ."

""I promise I will look after them. I swear it on the River Styx."

"Thank . . . .you . . . ."

"Now I can ease your pain, make it easier to speak and breathe." He chanted a soft tune, and with something that sounded like boulders rumbling, I no longer felt that I was about to die, but I wasn't fooling myself.

Then I saw what I came here for: the Door of Orpheus had opened, which was the sound of boulders rumbling. I climbed to my feet, and walked in, using the blessing of the hearth to heal my wounds.

The man stayed with me until he saw me pass into Hades realm.

I am now officially dead.

End of Flashback

Line Break

Percy's POV

"Wait, you said someone was with you while you "died". Who was it?" Athena asked, while Poseidon ran over and hugged me.

"Father, let go of me." I said, and when he did, I continued. "The person was an analogy. The Percy you knew died that day. I am not him. Who was the man that I saw? An apparition of the Mist I created to open the doors, since I was not able to sing."

"How are you that powerful with it?" Zeus asked.

"Hecate gave me her blessing. I can heal because Hestia gave me hers as well. Thanantos, Phobos, and Deimos gave me their blessings, to."

"That explains everything but the fire." Athena pointed out.

"I should give you the overview. In the Underworld, after passing through the Fields of Asphodel, I called upon the souls of the greatest heros to train me. They include: Achilles, Temujin, or Genghis Khan as you might know him, Miyamoto Musashi, Theseus, Hua Mulan, Jeanne 'd Arc, and the greatest of them all, Zoe Nightshade, among others. At the end of each teacher, they would give me a quest. One of such was to retrieve the Sword of Hyperion from the tree trunk. It allowed me to control light, and by extension, flame." I took out Light. "This is it's form after I was done re-forging it."

"What about your "family"?" Artemis asked.

"Prior to the last six months, rescuing demigods were the tasks set by the teachers, or I just would rescue one whenever they were in trouble. If they were more Roman than Greek, they went to Camp Jupiter. If they were more Greek, they went to Camp Half-Blood. If I saw any girl being abused, or any female demigod being abused, I took them to the Hunters. Gwen, Arin, and Saracen all train with me in the Underworld, just not as long." I finished.

"My son, you have grown strong." Poseidon said with wonder.

"_Too_ strong." Zeus said. "We must have him swear an oath to one of us."

"Fine. I wouldn't agree to this usually, but I know what a threat I would become." I said. "So just swear fidelity to one of you?"

"Yes." Zeus commanded.

"There are few of you that I respect, and only one that I could do something useful for." I turned to Artemis. "I swear, on the River Styx, to be loyal to you, Artemis."

Then I added, under my breath, so no one could hear. "For as long as is just."

There was a war looming. Drakons usually don't come out of Tartaurus. It would take either a Titan to bring it out, or something just as powerful. Most likely, though, it came here during the Great Stirring, but was never killed. If my worst fears are true, though, we would need as strong of a Hunt as possible. Then I tried to convince myself that was the only reason I swore myself to Artemis

"What? Me?" she asked with outrage. Apollo was laughing so hard, he nearly fell out of his chair.

Then, when he got his laughs under control, he said. "Should we call you The Guardian? Keeping Artemis away from all the_ scary _things."

"Personally, I like it." Athena added. "We can not afford to lose any more demigods after the last war, and even now, after the Titans are defeated, recruitment is still down."

"The idea has merit." Hera said. "Let us put it to a vote."

Most of the Olympians raised their hands. Artemis, Ares, and Dionysus didn't, but Dionysus was snoring.

"If you refuse, you're more then welcome to spend some time with me!" Aphrodite squealed.

"For one, that's disgusting. For two, no. Never." I responded. There is _no one_ that I'll allow myself to fall in love with. It's to dangerous. Either she'll get captured, or I will. But maybe if she's good enough not to. . . . I thought, glancing at Artemis.

"Why Percy?" Aphrodite whimpered. "Am I not pretty enough?"

"No. I've lost to many people who I love. I will not let that happen again. To many of my friends have died. Gwen, Beckondorf. . . . . to many."

"Wait. Gwen? The Roman?"

"Yes. The Roman." I said, and pulled up my sleeve, exposing my marks.

"What? You were at Camp Jupiter?" Athena asked. " That was incredibly dangerous. You could have caused a war."

"No. When I was at Camp Jupiter, my past was dead. I was a Roman demigod, who just happened to be good with a Greek blade." I said. "And who would believe me if I said I was Greek? All the Greek gods are gone to them. To Camp Jupiter, you are all Roman."

"Very well. You were wise not to expose your past though." Zeus said. "Artemis, take Perseus to your camp. Dismissed!"

"Come with me, _boy_." Artemis grabbed my arm, and flashed down to her camp.

Line Break

Artemis's POV

"Stay here." I hissed. "No matter how much I would enjoy it, I doubt Zeus would want you to die."

He nodded, and I walked out into the middle of the camp. Coming up to my Lieutenant, I ordered,

"Thalia, gather the Hunters. I have some bad news, and some more bad news."

A few minutes later, the Hunters were all assembled, with me in front of them.

"Hunters, Zeus has seen it fit to burden us with a "Guardian" as if we can't protect ourselves. The only bright side is that he probably won't be as bad as most males. And besides, we can just have him "protect" us from the boredom of doing laundry or sharpening arrows" I said, and saw the Hunt perk up a bit at that last statement. However, a few of them were still unhappy.

"A male? In the Hunt?" Pheobe asked in outrage. "The last male to spend time with us was Orion, and we all know how that turned out. The only good thing about that was that he was stung by a scorpion."

"He's better than Orion. At least, he'd better be."

"Artemis, I had no idea you thought so highly of me." I heard from beside me. Percy had literally _appeared_ next to me.

"Well, here he is. And how did you do that?" I asked, while the Hunt was shocked at his appearance. He _was_ dead, after all.

"I can hide myself in the Mist." He explained.

"Thalia," I ordered. "Get him a tent. I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on."

Then, as Thalia stormed forward, I saw a nervous look on his face. I wish I could listen to this. . .

Line Break

Percy's POV

"Come with me." Thalia ordered, and I hastily followed her. "Four fucking years, Jackson. Four years of me looking for you. Explain."

"It was either four years of you thinking I was dead, or four years of trying to hide that you knew I was alive. I'm sure someone would've noticed that you weren't grieving for me or whatever." I responded. Hell hath no fury like a woman wronged.

"Fine. For now. Tell me exactly what you've been doing and just how many weapons you have. I know you have at least four swords." She said.

"I was training in the Underworld and bringing in demigods. As for my weapons: I have Storm and Shadow, my two short-swords. I have Light and Darkness, the katanas, two silver hunting knives, ten throwing knives, a Desert Eagle, and, of course, Riptide."

"Speaking of Riptide, why didn't you ever use it? And how do you carry it all?"

"It's the most recognizable thing I have. It'd be like having an empty six-pack of beer in a car, then trying to convince people you aren't drunk. As for how I carry it all, well, it isn't easy. Either Storm and Shadow or Light and Darkness are on my back, while the other pair is at my waist. The hunting knives are strapped to my thighs. Four throwing knives are on my waist, and the other six are on my shoulders, three on each side. I usually hide them with the Mist, though."

"Okay. Here's your tent." She said, handing me a rectangle of fabric. "Jut throw it on the ground, or if you want to move it, but both hands on a side."

At that, she walked away, and I headed in the opposite direction, a bit outside the Hunt's boundaries. Then, after expanding the tent, I walked inside and went to sleep.

**AN: Here you go. I would have done a better job, with a few less plot holes, but the readers wanted me to get Percy back, so here he is. As for his powers, they'll be revealed next chapter.**

**This chapter is where the Re-Write splits off more from this story. **

**Warning: I might not be able to update this next week, Thanksgiving and all.**

**Reviews are always appreciated!**


	11. Chapter 11- First Day on the Job

**AN: ****I use meters because the Customary System sucks. Base ten is a lot easier to calculate, and the rest of the world uses it. Besides, any Republicans out there would say we have a half-liter as a President. Sound it out **_**liter**_**. Get it? Liter=Leader? Don't worry, I don't hate on **** Obama, and I wouldn't hate on Romney, either.**

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of. I also do not own anything I make references to.

Chapter Eleven- First Day on the Job

Percy's POV

I woke up the next morning to, at four o' clock saw a note on the desk of my tent.

To Perseus:

List of chores:

Laundry (River)

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Sharpen Arrows (Armory Tent)

Mend Clothing (Supply Tent)

Construct New Arrows (Armory Tent)

Make baths for the Hunters

Sharpen Any Dull Equipment (Armory Tent)

Feed the Wolves (Pen Tent)

Feed the Falcons (Pen Tent)

Do Whatever Else I Tell You.

-A

Ugg. I thought, and ate my own breakfast, a sip from my flask. Energy coursed through me, waking me up and preparing me. I didn't actually have to sleep, but sometimes I miss it. Just drinking from the flask doesn't give me a semblance of rest.

Then I walked out of the tent and down to the nearby river where I saw an immense stack of laundry. Seriously _massive_. Like, at least two meters high, and at least one wide.

This is gonna suck. But at least I have water powers, right? It should be easy.

**Time Skip: Three Hours.**

Percy's POV

"Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!" I yelled. About fifteen minutes in, I discovered that I now just had wet clothing that was still dirty. Without soap of any kind, I had to clean them the old fashioned way. Scrubbing. With rocks. I had to throw in a _lot_ of rocks and swirl all the cloths around them, but it took a _really_ long time. Then I had to hang them _all_ on clotheslines. By the time I was done, my muscles burned, and I was tired. But I always had the flask.

My muscles screamed as I lifted the last shirt over the clothesline, and straightened it.

I took a small sip of the liquid and felt some energy flow back into me. I couldn't drink to much, for two reasons. One: it was energy. If I drink too much, I might accidentally release it, along with all my power that's naturally in my body, basically causing an explosion of water, fire, spirits, Mist, and home-cooked food. What's worse is that everyone within a hundred meters of me would see fear so strong it could kill them. And I would sink into unconsciousness, with so little energy, I would barely be breathing. Two: I wasn't going to be able to make some any time soon, and it took a while to make with precision.

Then I heard a shout of alarm, and ran back to the camp.

Line Break

Artemis's POV

I had just landed my chariot, ending the night, and headed towards a tent that was a distance away from the other's. Perseus's. I walked inside, expecting to see him sleeping, then shove him off the side of the bed to wake him up. Instead I found a perfectly made bed, and an empty tent.

"Perseus?" I called softly, concern in my voice. Why did I care if he was missing? I thought angrily. I don't like him! He's just another stupid male. What's one thing good about him?

Then the other side of my brain responded. Well, he did take the sky for you. He rescued you and your Hunters. He brought in new Hunters. And he _is_ kind of- - - I cut of that train of thought before it could go any further, and walked outside.

"Perseus?" I called again. No answer.

"Perseus!" I shouted, my voice louder, hoping not to wake the Hunters. Less then fifteen seconds later, I saw him run out of the forest.

"What's wrong?" Perseus asked.

"What's wrong? Other than you disappearing?" I responded hotly.

"Oh, Arty, I never knew you'd be so concerned." Percy said sweetly.

"Where were you? What were you doing? And why?" I said growled through clenched teeth. It was taking all of my willpower not to slap him.

"I was down at the river, washing your cloths, because it was on the list you gave me."

"What list?" I asked, confused. I never made any list for him.

"This one." Percy said, pulling out a piece of paper.

"Wait?" he asked. "You didn't put it on my desk? It's signed with -A"

"No. This isn't my handwriting, either. But is looks like a good list, so go back to laundry." I said, smiling. "You have to earn your place here, after all."

"It's already done. The next thing on the list is breakfast." Percy responded, smiling.

"How? The whole Hunt's?" I asked with astonishment.

"Yep." Percy replied, smiling at my look. He didn't even talk to me about the list? He just started it? That was. . . . . selfless.

Percy's POV

"How early did you wake up?" Artemis said, still shocked.

"Four."

"You got it all done in _three hours_? It usually takes _five_ Hunters that long to do it!"

"So?"

"So how did you do it, fish boy?"

"I just did, Moonbeam." Percy responded.

"_Moonbeam_?" Artemis said with anger in her voice. I can't help it. This is much to fun to stop.

"Yep, Arty I figure, since were on a nickname basis. I like Moonbeam." I said, then watched her face grow even redder.

"Stop calling me that!" She looked adorable like that, those lips curling into a pout.

"Now why would I do a silly thing like that?" I replied.

"Because I'll kill you if you don't." I watched as her silver eyes narrowed, and came up with something.

"Aw, you're so cute when your angry. Pity you prefer woman." I winked suggestively, making her start shouting.

"I DO NOT!"

"I wonder what kinds of mischief you get up to in the Hunt." I said, ignoring her response. "I mean, you do have sound-proof tents. And you're always the age of the Hunt, so it sounds like the perfect environment."

"ARGH!" She yelled, and slapped me across the face.

"That was _way_ to fun to miss." Percy said, rubbing his face. "Ohh, is someone a little grumpy?"

"We'll see whose grumpy by the end of the day." Artemis replied. "Remember, you still have that _whole_ list."

"So next is me making breakfast for everyone?" Perseus questioned.

"For everyone but me. I don't trust your cooking. Maybe in a few months, after you learn how."

"Well, call the Hunters then. I'll see what they want." Percy said.

"They all want two eggs, and four strips of bacon. Each." I responded

"Then tell the Hunters to come when their ready to eat." This'll be fun. I bet the Hunters'll enjoy waking up and waiting for breakfast. And they'll only take it out on one person.

I walked to each of the tents, and told them to come out when hungry. Not surprising to me, they all went to the dining tent.

"Well, it appears our new Guardian isn't ready, so-" I started, then heard a voice behind me.

"Excuse me?" Percy said. "I'm not the one who nearly woke the camp looking for _someone_."

"You can't possibly have made it _all_." I said.

"But I have something better." Percy turned to the last person at the table, the most recent Hunter he brought in. "Diana, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Umm. Pancakes? With bacon?" Diana said sweetly. The other eight of the Hunters all had small smiles. Why? What do they know?

"What about you?" He asked to the next hunter, Morgan, who nodded.

"The same."

"Me too!" Another said.

"All of you?" Percy asked, raising an eyebrow. The rest of the Hunt nodded.

"Yeah, but I doubt you could make it, _boy_." Pheobe spat.

"Just watch me." Percy responded calmly, closed his eyes, and thirty plates with _exactly_ what they ordered appeared in front of them. The air filled with the scent of fried bacon and syrup "Dig in!"

The hunter he brought in immediately started eating. The rest of the Hunt followed, after a hesitation. As I watched, I saw the Hunt's faces light up, one after another.

"Holy crap, Seaweed Brain. This stuff is _good_." Thalia said. Right now, my stomach was growling from the smell.

"You should have some, my lady." Diana perked up.

"Should I?" I asked the rest of the Hunt. They all nodded. "Very well. Summon one for me, Perseus."

"Are you sure? I thought you didn't 'Trust my cooking'" Percy said, a smirk on his face. That's enough. I reached across and slapped him. Hard.

"Ow!" He yelled, and staggered backwards. "I guess I deserved that. Here you go, my lady."

Another dish appeared in front of my, and I tentatively tried it. The bacon was crispy on the outside, perfectly cooked, and the inside was perfectly juicy. Then I took a bit of the pancake, which was light and fluffy, made by a master.

"This'll do." I said, trying to keep the surprise off my face. He could cook like this? Well, he was skilled. "What?" You're not eating?"

"No. I'm just waiting 'till you're done." He replied. Why doesn't he eat?

The Hunt and I finished quickly, and they all left, except for Thalia and I.

"Looks like you get to wash the dishes." I said, then walked out. "Thalia, come to my tent when you're ready."

Line Break

Thalia's POV

"Damn, Seaweed Brain." I said, then saw a flash of pain on his face as I continued. "I like your style."

He was wearing an all black shirt, tucked into black jeans with silver chains around the pockets, and a black belt with bits of silver and a silver buckle on it. To top it all off, he was wearing a black hoodie, unzipped at the front.

"Can you not call me Seaweed Brain?" He asked.

"Why?"

"It reminds me of her."

"Who? Annabeth? What did she do? Wait. . . she didn't, did she?" I said with disbelief.

"She did worse. _She_ was dating Ethan Nakamura before he died. After I found out, she said I dumped her, then released a bunch of shit showing my as an evil guy who didn't actually do anything. That's why I left." Percy said bitterly. His eyes looked broken as he said this, then hardened again.

"That bitch!" I shouted. "I mean, I noticed something was happening, but I didn't know what."

"I know. Those years ago, she started turning young campers against me. Recently, she became more distant, and stopped, but the campers she turned against me continued what she started. Now, it's about fifty-fifty." He responded, his voice low.

"How do you know?" I asked, surprised. Even _I_ didn't know that.

"My family keeps me informed." He said, closing the topic.

"So how did you do that?" I questioned Percy.

"With the blessing of Hestia. It allows me to summon food." He replied, as he used water to clean all the plates, then dried them with fire.

"What powers do you have? And how did you get them?" I asked, shocked.

"Let's see. Water, from Poseidon. I can control light and fire after I retrieved Hyperion's sword from the tree. Phobos and Deimos blessed my with the ability to see people's fears, protect myself from fear, and inspire fear/terror in other people. Hestia gave me healing, food, and more control over my other powers. Hecate gave me Mist control, and Thanatos made me be able to summon spirits."

"How did you just appear next to Artemis yesterday?"

"Part of the Mist. I can do a lot with it: Hide myself in it, turning invisible, or hide objects in it. I can create apparitions with it, and trick people into seeing things. Lastly, I can bend the minds of mortals a lot more easily, and more drastically."

"Wait. You can turn invisible?"

"Yep. It's really hard though, to trick that many minds into not seeing my, and not seeing movement is even harder. On a good day, I get upwards of two minutes." He said.

"But you said you usually hide your weapons?" I asked.

"It's a lot easier to hide objects. If you ask someone if they remember seeing someone, and they'll remember. But it you ask what they were wearing, and they won't know. The less bending you need to do, the easier it is. Also, with water and fire, I can teleport anywhere with moisture of heat, like Nico with his shadow traveling." Percy explained.

"Well, OK." I said, and as he turned, one of his chains hit me in the thigh."OW! Watch it, Perce. You could use those as whips or something."

"Sorry." He said, then walked out. I shook my head and walked over to Artemis's tent.

Line Break

Percy's POV

I walked over to a tent that looked bigger then the rest, and stuck my head inside. First thing I noticed: it was a large area, full of wolves and birds. Second: A pack of wolves was charging at me.

Uh-oh.

I summoned a massive piece of beef at the other end of the tent, then watched all the wolves do an abrupt about face, and start running. For the falcons, I communed several dozen dead mice. Thank Hestia, mice were a food.

That was easy. I walked out to another large tent that was full of cloths, and sighed at the pile of cloths that were ripped, lying to one side. "Mend clothes" the list said. At least I knew how. One of my teachers made me learn.

**Time Skip: Four Hours**

"Gorram it" I swore as I stabbed my thumb for the twenty-first time, judging by the cuts on my fingers.

"Perseus! Lunch!" I heard Artemis yell.

Grumbling, I walked out of the tent to the dining area. I was only about two-thirds of the way done with the mending. As I walked through the entrance of the dining tent, I felt my foot squelched against. . . . something.

I looked down to see some type of goo stuck to my shoe, and heared the hunters laugh at me. I tried to lift my foot up, and the entire bucket rise with me.

"Need help Percy? You look a little. . . stuck." Artemis chuckled.

"No, my lady. What would you all like for lunch?" I asked.

"Put a few dozen sandwiches on the table." Artemis ordered, then a pile of sandwiches appeared. "Still not eating?"

"No, my lady." I said, and walked out. I burned the bucket and goo off as I was walking, and headed beck to the Supply Tent. One I was inside, I took a drink of my own goop, and watched the cuts on my thumb close. Nectar was a small ingredient of it, which really help in situations like this.

"Back to work, Percy." I chided myself, and attacked the pile with renewed vigor.

**Time Skip: Two Hours.**

"Finally." I said as I folded the last shirt on the pile, and walked out. Then ran into Artemis.

Line Breakfast

Artemis's POV

I felt something large slam into me, knocking me to the floor, with whoever it is on top. I quickly drew a knife and pressed to it Percy's throat.

"Oh my gods, please don't castrate me." He pleaded. Percy looked almost cute like that.

"Fine. I have something for you to do." We both got up, and I started walking.

"What, my lady?"

"I have a tent that needs mending."

"As you wish." He said, then bowed.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Bowing. You are my lady, after all." Percy explained.

"I don't like bowing." I said. "Here's the tent."

"Hmm. Very well. I'll come up with something else, then." He said, and walked off.

Line Breakfast

Percy's POV

At the edge of camp, and threw the tent on ground, expanding it outward. I immediately saw a long tear on the side, exposing the inside to the cold. I went back to the Supply Tent, and grabbed a box labeled "Tent Fixing Supplies"

This was going to take a while. . . . . About thirty minutes later, it was all mended, and I pushed my hands into the side of it, causing the tent to snap inward, back to small form.

Next, the list said "Sharpen Arrows". Back to the Armory Tent, I guess.

Then I saw the arrows. Or should I say, buckets of arrows. Hundreds of arrows. Possibly thousands.

"I hate this shit." I muttered to myself. But what I didn't know was that a certain silver-eyed goddess was watching.

**Time Skip: Six Hours**

Artemis's POV

Wow. Close to, what, six hours now? No breaks? Even my oldest hunters would complain. . . . . or at least rest occasionally.

"I hate these fucking arrows. How did they get so dull?" Percy said as he put the last dull arrow in a bucket.

"Percy?" I said behind me, faking surprise. "Time for- wait. How did you do that?"

Percy's POV

Artemis eyed the buckets of arrows with astonishment, but I could see something. . . off about her expression.

"By using a whetstone?" I asked. "And how did some of those arrows get so blunt?"

"Yes, but _no one_ sharpens close to two thousand arrows in one day. And these," She plucked one of the dullest arrows that I sharpened from a bucket. "these are blunt arrows. They aren't even meant to be sharpened."

"Oh. Then I must've sharpened a few hundred of them, too. But why were they in the buckets?" I said.

"I don't know." Artemis replied. "Probably one of the Hunters messed up."

"Only one?" I said skeptically.

"Yes. But it is time for you to make dinner. Which I'm guessing you won't eat?" Artemis asked, a question in her voice.

"I won't" I replied, brushing past her and into the dining tent.

"What do you want now?" I asked, made the order of every Hunter, until I got to Artemis. "You, my lady?"

"Steak. With mashed potatoes and gravy on the side." Artemis responded. Good choice. My favorite food, too.

"Of course, my lady." I said, and a steaming plate of steak appeared. Then I went back to the Armory, and the pile of knives I still had to sharpen. The first hunting knife looked so dull, it was like someone took a hammer to it. . . . . . those damn hunters.

I grabbed the whetstone, and, with effort, ran it across the blade, or what was left of it. This was _hard. _ First the blunt arrows, now this? Maybe if I just muscle through it they'll stop. They have to get bored eventually. . . . I thought, and hoped. As I was on the fifth of eleven knives, Artemis poked her head in, surprising me.

"Artemis!" I yelped. "I mean, my lady, what can I do for you?"

"Time for you to start guarding. Most of the Hunters are sleeping, and you, as Guardian, get sentry duty. Permanently." Artemis replied.

"So, no sleep. Ever?" I asked. No big deal. This'll be a welcome break from working.

"Well, sharks can sleep and still move around, right? You're fish boy, so you should to." Artemis said, smirking.

"So you want to start that again? Alright, _Moonbeam_. One: Sharks are classified as rays, not fish. Two: I'm _much_ better at giving nicknames then you are." I argued.

"Really, Kelp-for-Brains?"

"Bring it on, Deer Girl."

"How about it, Aqua Boy?"

"That was lame. Aqua means _water_, Arty." At that, she stepped forward, and slapped me. Again. In the same place as the other two, leaving me with a red hand-print on my cheek

"No one calls me Arty." Artemis said, her face red.

"I do, Arty." I responded, smirking.

"Stop it!" Artemis ordered. Gods, this was _fun_.

"Or?" I asked, my smirk turning into a shit-eating grin.

"Or I'll just call you Perseus for the rest of your life. I know you hate that." Artemis responded to my question, her face still red, but a beautiful smile creeping onto her face.

"No way. You hate being called Arty _way_ more the I hate being called Perseus, Moonbeam." I replied. I'd gladly be called Perseus if I could make her like this all the time. Her

"ARGH!" Artemis yelled, and stormed out of the tent. I followed her, then noticed a chair at the center of the camp. This was going to be a long night. . . . .

**AN: I don't know how fast the Pertimis should really develop. Review, if you want to help me decide. If not, well, don't. **

**I needed that break from writing. My life has been kind of stressful, but I think it's mostly over now.**

**Check the poll on my profile. It is of the utmost importance. And I just sounded like some medieval knight or something.**

**Reviews are always welcomed/appreciated!**


	12. Chapter 12- Second Day of Hell

**AN: Hello. Just a tip, never spend ten hours indoors with no Internet connection, lots of loud noises and _The Epic of Gilgamesh_. Whatever you do, you'll get bored out of your skull.**

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of.

Chapter Twelve- Second Day in Hell

Percy's POV

I took a sip from my flask and sat in the chair. The whetstone scrapped along the edge of a knife I was sharpening, the sixth of eleven. The rhythmic sound almost put me to sleep, and I jerked awake when I almost stabbed myself with the knife. Then I had a better idea, and concentrated. Sure enough, Mrs. o' Leary popped out from the nearest shadow, and sat down beside me. She was the reason I didn't go insane the first few months in the Underworld. Coincidentally, she was the only creature I allowed myself to get close to. If anyone in my "family" died, I didn't want to get hurt again.

"ARF." Mrs. O' Leary barked, and I tried to pet her. How much of a dog the size of a tank can you pet at once?

Once she settled down, I returned to the sharpening, going through the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth knife before I took another sip of the flask. Who would've thought sharpening a knife was so tough? Then again, most dull knives didn't look like a bar of metal attached to a handle when I got them. I went back to sharpening with renewed energy, and blew through the tenth and eleventh knives. Then it was time to practice.

First I drew Storm and Shadow, then pitted myself against a Mist Percy, who I just called Ray, for no good reason. Ray also drew his replicas of Storm and Shadow, then we started. Since we were exactly the same, we were evenly matched. For thirty minutes, we just worked up a sweat.

"Ray. Middle Ages." I ordered. He sheathed Storm and Shadow, and drew Riptide. This time, I used Greek techniques against his Medieval tactics. Little did I know someone was watching, from high above me.

Line Break

Artemis's POV

As I was flying in my Moon Chariot, I was watching and listening for any trouble at camp. Soon enough, I heard the clash of metal on metal, and low grunts. I looked over the side, and saw to figures fighting at unbelievable speeds in the center of my camp. One was Perseus, and the other looked exactly like him. And they both had the same weapons.

Confidant that Perseus would soon kill him, I sat back and watched them fight. Perseus would slash, the other would parry, then return with a stab. They were evenly matched, and neither had an advantage. I watched as they both drew the Japanese looking swords. As they fought, using what looked like Eastern styles, I was analyzing the style, looking for openings I could use against him the next battle. I tore my gaze away from the truly amazing display of skill in front of me, and abruptly realized the camp could be in danger.

My bow flexed backward as I drew back an arrow, aiming at the one I thought wasn't Perseus, then heard the _scrape-slither_ of a bow being shot as my arrow raced to its target. After I loosed the arrow, the camp went out of sight, and I could only hope I hit the right one.

Line Break

Percy's POV

I was tiring and was about to call the workout to a stop when a silver arrow hit Ray right in the chest. My mind was still in "battle mode" as I called it when I took advantage of the distraction and pressed my blade to Ray's throat.

"No fair." it complained. "I got shot. That's outside interference."

"Yes fair. Don't get shot next time." I replied, and pulled him to his feet, yanking the arrow out. As an apparition, it was solid, but still wasn't technically alive, and as such, didn't feel pain, or any emotion.

"Who shot me?" asked Ray.

"Probably Artemis. It _was _a silver arrow, and she's the only one awake, driving the Moon and all. Kinda funny. It looks like she's the only one allowed to hurt me." I chuckled "Now, time for you to disappear. I need to fly."

After Ray dissolved, I unsheathed my wings and shot into the sky, low enough to hear Mrs. o' Leary's howl, but high enough to train from. Now I start the next stage of my workout.

I started summoning water dropping it on the camp before evaporating it in thin air. The home foods went the same way. Then it complicated. I summoned a hurricane of water, and an inferno of fire. Some people twiddled there thumbs, but I tried to make funnels of water and fire rotate around each other, as fast as they can and as close as possible, without turning them to steam. You know, to bide time.

Once I got exhausted from flying and exerting my power, I landed, and sipped my gunk. After I recovered, I summoned the spirit of one of the most skilled martial artists of the nineteen-hundreds, who also happened to be an actor: Bruce Lee.

We fought using the most traditional weapons: bare fists. Lee used his personal philosophy, Jeet Kune Do. I used my own technique, one that shared the same core as Jeet Kune Do, but was slower and hit harder, which fit my personality and skills. I would start by attacking, but Lee, using the tactics he created, would force me take a hit, and hope I wouldn't flinch. In the end the same thing happened as any other match: We both would just stand there. If one of us attacked, the other would us the "Intercepting Fist" forcing the first to back up or get hit. After we bowed to each other, I sent him back down to Elysium.

Then the last phase of training started. My blessing from Phobos. I used my fear directly on myself, seeing my fears and growing accustomed to them. Or trying to:

_Mrs. o' Leary dissolving into dust. . . ._

_A gun on a table and a choice: Kill Saracen or the two innocents next to her._

_Gwen, being impaled again on Octavian's spear._

"_You disgust me. You aren't my son." The face of my mother said. The oldest fear I had._

_Arin, lying bloody and broken on a street._

_Dakota, Sylvia, Jason, Nico and Thalia standing back to back against a horde of monsters. One by one, they all died, being skewered, bitten, clawed, burned to dust. Thalia's head being smashed as Nico tries to save her. Jason being stabbed while Dakota was to far away to help. Sylvia falling as she tries to defend Jason's body. Dakota finally stands near Jason's and Sylvia's bodies, trying desperately to survive the endless waves of monsters, but can't. Then Nico, all alone, surrounded by the bodies of his friends, finally beaten, is decapitated by my oldest enemy: the Minotaur._

They always died. Always in a different order, different ways. Every time I couldn't help, just watch as they were killed in front of me Usually, my fears ended here, but there was a new one.

_A flash of auburn hair and silver eyes, then gone . . . ._

My body was wracked with sweat, and my eyes were damp with tears as I got up and sat next to Mrs. o' Leary, taking comfort from her fur. After a few minutes of contemplating my last fear, I headed towards the river where a stack of clothes stood proudly at the edge, bigger then yesterdays.

At least I knew how to wash them now . . . .

Line Break

Time Skip: Four Hours

My back burned. That was my entire existence: My back feeling like a truck ran over it. Then went into reverse and ran it over again. For four hours.

"I am going to kill those damn hunters. As soon as I get back." I said in the breaks between swearing. If anything, my back hurt more then yesterday. I checked my watch and six fifty-three glowed back at me. Artemis'll be back in about seven minutes, I thought, and ran back to camp, an idea ricocheting around my head. I hid in the trees outside the camp and summoned another replica of myself from my memories, complete with an arrow sticking out of it.

Six minutes later, I could see the Moon Chariot land and Artemis rush out.

"Percy!" I could see honest concern on her face as she ran to my fake body. "You can't be dead!"

Well, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting. I walked out and called, "Nope, not dead yet."

Line Break

Artemis's POV

When I heard his voice, I immediately spun around. Why do I care if he died? He's just a disgusting male like the rest of them, I thought. I only care because Zeus would send someone even worse if he dies, I tried to rationalize my feelings, but it didn't quite work.

So I did the natural thing, and slapped him. Hard.

"OW!" He said. "I knew you could be jealous, but I didn't think it would be that jealous. I mean, seeing me with somebody else, and you just shoot the other person? Wow. I didn't know you cared that much, Arty."

"I am not! If you die, Zeus will just send somebody else. Now, go do the breakfast thing while I wake the Hunters, Seaweed Brain." As I said the last two words I could see his face change from happy, to showing an unbelievable amount of hurt, sadness, and rage, quickly covered up. Then he turned and stiffly walked away. What was that all about?

I walked into Thalia's tent and woke her first. I needed to ask her something.

"Thalia, when I called Perseus 'Seaweed Brain' it did something to him. Why?"

"You know Annabeth?" Thalia asked.

"Yes. Perseus's girlfriend. Who he left for four years when he went to the Underworld, which wasn't very kind of him, now that I think of it." I replied.

"That's 'cause you don't know the whole story. Percy found out that Annabeth was cheating on him, and ran away. Annabeth always called him Seaweed Brain, and calling him that brings back bad memories. Percy asked me to stop calling him that too." Thalia explained.

I walked out and mechanically woke the other Hunters, my mind still mulling over what I now knew of Perseus's past.

When I arrived at the dining tables, all the Hunters were already sitting and Perseus was quizzing them on what they wanted. At last, he got to me.

"So, Artemis, what'll you have?"

"Eggs and bacon." I replied, "Make any comments, and I'll have the Hunters use you as target practice."

"Are you sure? I thought eggs and bacon was supposed to be yesterday's meal." Perseus smirked.

"Hunters, after you finish, practice is early today." I called, but Perseus didn't look very worried.

In record time, the Hunt and I scarfed down our meals, and I dragged Perseus out to the practicing area.

"Today, our 'Guardian' has been kind enough to let us use him as target practice. Only blunt arrows, though." I said the the other Hunters. "Perseus, go to the other end of the field."

We waited until he was fifty meters away before I stopped him.

"Well Hunters, whenever you're ready." I said, not paying attention to Perseus, who drew his two katanas and turned sideways.

The Hunters started firing, excluding the nine he brought in, who just went through the motions.

Then Perseus's swords moved so fast, they looked like blurs. Every arrow that came at him, he either blocked or dodged.

"Stop." I ordered the Hunters. As Perseus walked up, I asked, "How the Hades did you do that?"

"I _have_ shot a bow before. At this distance, the arrows can only travel a certain arc to hit me. I simply blocked them when they got close. I don't have super sight or something. I'm only human."

"Dodge this then." I said, and shot a blunt arrow, point-blank, into his chest. To my surprise, it actually penetrated, and lodged there. Perseus fell backwards, groaning.

I dropped to my knees behind him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to actually. . ."

"Pull it out." He groaned.

"No we need to get you to the med tent." I replied. "Hunters. Help me carry him."

To my surprise, most of them came up, but Perseus waved them away.

"Fine, make me do it." He said, grabbed the arrow, and yanked it out. He got up, and bunching his shirt over his wound, stumbled over to his tent.

Line Break

Percy's POV

"Fuck, this hurts." I groaned, but rolled up my shirt and put my hand over the injury, healing it while locking the tent's door.

I breathed deeply and took a gulp from my flask, feeling the energy go through me. Then the tent flap opened.

Line Break

Artemis's POV

"He locked it, my lady." Thalia said. "None of us can open it."

"Fine, I'll try." I pulled on the zipper, and to my surprise, it opened.

"He lets it open for you. How sweet." I ignored Thalia and walked inside, to see Perseus holding a hip flask, his shirt rolled up. He had a really well muscled chest. . .

I had to tear my eyes away from it to see the arrow hole was already healed.

"I can heal, remember?" Perseus said, but he looked tired. "A potentially life threatening injury is just quite a bit harder to heal then a cut or bruise."

He put away the flask and stood up, groaning. "The day's wasting, and now I have a few dozen more arrows to fix."

"You cannot just get up from this. You could have died!" I protested. Seriously, why did I care?

"I might have. But I didn't, so I have to do the chores." He stood up and left, leaving me alone. When I looked around his tent, there was only one decoration: A picture of someone who looked like his mother smiling next to another man. Taped to the back was a what looked like a plastic box with a metal rectangle extending from the end of it. I took it and walked out.

"I'll have that back." I heard from behind me. Perseus was there holding out his hand.

"I don't have anything!" I protested.

"Please. You took a USB drive from the back of my picture. I want it back."

"How did you know?"

"A simple alarm. The USB holds us a wire. If someone removes it, the wire falls, and hits a battery. The battery fuels a wireless signal to this thing." He pulled out a blinking red light. "The light starts blinking."

"Fine." I gave it back. "What's a USB drive?"

"You've heard of a computer, right?"

"Yes." Mostly from Hunter complaining that they didn't have one, and Thalia bragging that she did.

"This thing connects to one, and holds information that you don't want on the computer itself, or you want to take with you." He explained. "Now I need to go."

Perseus walked to the Armory tent and ducked inside. What information was he storing?

Line Break

Percy's POV

As soon as I entered the Armory tent, I teleported myself to a locked room with a computer. Using the computer, I copied the USB drive to another, then turned the computer off and called Martin Blake.

"Martin. I need you to go somewhere no one can see you."

"OK. Wait." He replied. A minute later, he spoke again. "I'm good."

"Good." I transported the new USB. "Take this. Don't try to read it, or look into it. Tell all the campers I brought in this: If I message one of you saying my life's work is gone, or something like that, direct me to you. Got it?"

"Yeah. Why?" Martin asked.

"I'm in a place where the original might be destroyed or stolen. I need you to keep that one as a fail safe. Every once and a while, or whenever you can, plug it in. It'll extract files from a fake email account that I use, so keep it updated." I explained, then teleported myself back to the Armory tent

"Time to start the arrows. . . ." I muttered. The first one was blunt, and so was the second.

Line Break

Time Skip: Three Hours

Percy's POV

It wasn't to bad this time. Turns out, maybe half the arrows were blunt arrows that I didn't have to sharpen. But the other arrows were little more then triangles, they were so dull. My arms burned, but I was used to it from years of practice using swords, spears, bows, and fists. As I was walking to the Supply tent to mend the clothing, I used the Mist to seal away my memories of the fail safe drive. To make it completely safe, I needed to not know it exists.

When that was done, I walked over to the Supply tent, not noticing a bucket until I stepped in it. It was the same goop that the Hunters use in CTF games. It hardens after force is applied, and is fireproof, so no burning it off. The only way was to soak it in water for an hour. Fortunately, I had plenty of water. And plenty of time as I mended clothes.

When I looked at the pile, I could see at least most of the clothing had been deliberately torn. Torn in ways that a tree couldn't. Not to mention that no person could get rips in their clothing that quickly.

Line Break

Diana's POV

I opened the Armory tent to see all the arrows were sharpened, and all the blunt arrows that the older hunters put in were sorted. But my brother wasn't here.

"Maybe the Supply tent?" I wondered aloud, and walked over.

Percy was sitting there, a parka in his hands as he sewed. A stack of mended clothes beside him, a larger stack of ripped up clothes on the floor.

"Percy?" I asked. "Artemis wants you to make lunch."

"Sure." replied my brother.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to a bucket next to his feet.

"A little present that some of your sisters left for me." Percy said, a trace of bitterness in his voice.

"They're not going to stop." I warned him.

"But if this is what it takes, I'll deal with it." Percy sighed, "Now, you said lunch?"

Percy walked out, with me following. When we got to the tables, he just stood at the edge and sighed. "What do you want?"

"Same as yesterday." Artemis ordered. The same sandwich platter appeared, and he walked away.

**AN: I'm trying to think of a way that Percy can remove some of his chores/spend more time with Artemis. The best I can come up with is Artemis having to teach him how to track, since he _is_ part of the Hunt. **

**Check out the Re-Write, please. It separates from this one at chapter eight, so skip to it if you want.**


	13. Chapter 13- Drakon & Co

**A/N: Wow, so far I've written around forty thousand words for this story. Including the Split-off, that's something like fifty-five thousand. Never thought that would happen.**

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of. I also do not own anything I make references to.

Chapter Thirteen- Drakon & Co.

Percy's POV

After the Hunters started tearing into the sandwiches, I went back to the Supply tent and mended the rest of the clothes. Now that just left making new replacement arrows, feeding the pets, and sharpening equipment. And it was already late afternoon.

First was the feeding. Just like yesterday, I summoned large piles of meat and rodents, stood back and watched the show. By the time they were done there were only bones left. Seriously, just bones. Not even eyes. At least that got over quickly. . . now it was replacing arrows and sharpening knives.

I walked back to the armory tent to see a stack of broken arrows. Most arrows didn't break, they just became dull, but the ones that did took a while to replace.

"Those Hunters." I sighed. Most of the arrows were chopped in half at the middle, a place where they wouldn't break naturally.

The first arrow was easy. Sharpen the head, re-attach it to another shaft, then tie the feathers on the back end.

"Perseus?" Artemis said, entering the tent.

"Yes, my lady?" I replied.

"Since you _are_ technically part of the Hunt, I need to teach you how. We start tomorrow after breakfast." Artemis ordered. Why hadn't I learned to track in the Underworld? I even convinced Zoe to teach my family to, but I never learned.

"Then I'm very sorry to say this, but there isn't time in the day to do all of these chores and learn to hunt, my lady." It was true. The chores took all day and most of the night yesterday.

"Hmm. I'll just have the Hunters take over laundry and sharpening arrows. That should give you more than enough time to learn." Well, I didn't expect it would work that well. I thought she'd just say something like "Live with it."

"Ok, then. When are your Hunters taking a bath, my lady?" I asked.

"Right now, actually. That's the other reason I came by. We need you to summon the water and heat it up." Artemis explained.

"Coming, then, my lady." I replied

"Why are you calling me 'my lady'? Artemis asked, puzzled.

"That's what the Hunters call you. I seems appropriate that I do the same. After all, I don't want to get shot every day. It _hurts_." This has _nothing_ to do with the fact that I didn't want to grow close to anybody. Absolutely nothing. If anyone found out, and told Artemis, I'd be short one very important body part. Artemis winced, then replied,

"Sorry about that, again. But don't call me 'my lady'. It doesn't sound right coming from you."

"What about the Hunters? I doubt they'd like me calling you Arty in the middle of the camp." As if they didn't like me enough already. . .

"Call me 'my lady' in front of other people, then." Artemis replied.

"As you wish, Arty." I said, smirking. Time to start this again.

"And don't call me Arty!" Artemis yelled. Thank gods for sound-proof tents.

"Fine then, Moonbeam." I replied.

"NO NICKNAMES!" Artemis said, then slapped me again. On the same cheek as yesterday. Which totals four slaps in two days. And from Artemis, slaps _hurt_. She was _strong. "_Now come on."

She turned and strode out of the door, her hair swinging behind her. I sighed and followed her, out where the Hunters were all waiting.

"One big bath or a bunch of little ones?" I asked.

"Little ones. Thirty or so." Artemis replied. Sighing again, I manipulated water to form thirty one separate pools of water, then lit a fire underneath each one.

"Now leave. If you even think of coming back, I will kill you. Then make sure your soul is sent to Tartarus." Artemis ordered.

"No problem. I still have a few hundred arrows to replace. Some of them seem so broken. . ." I let the sentence trail off, watching the older Hunters try to smother laughter while the younger ones just looked puzzled. The noticeable thing was while Thalia was smirking, she looked uncomfortable.

Turning around, I stalked back to the Armory, and sat down at the stool, looking at the pile of arrows I still needed to make replacements for.

Time Skip: Four Hours

I tossed the last arrow into the bucket of replaced arrows, then grabbed the first knife of. . . only two? I guess since I still had the knives from yesterday, they couldn't re-dull them. Picking up the whetstone from next to it, I started running the stone across what was left of the blade.

Then Artemis came in, "Perseus, time for you to start guarding."

"Sure, Arty." I said.

"I told you. Don't call me _Arty."_ Artemis replied, speaking through clenched teeth.

"You told me. I never said I would, Moonbeam." She just got so _cute_ when she was angry, her eyes lighting up and her cheeks turning red.

"Just go out there and guard." She said, then walked out. I followed her in time to see her take off in her chariot. A second later, it was fifty meters in the air. Another second, and it was . . . stopping? Squinting, I could see a bunch of specks around the chariot, swooping and diving.

"Shit!" I swore, extending my wings, and shot upward into the air, flying as fast as possible. But not fast enough, as a bird of some kind crashed into Artemis from behind, knocking her off the chariot.

I had to dive again to catch her. She was ten meters away. Eight. Come on wings. I thought. Get me there before we hit the ground . . . Five meters. The ground was closing it fast. Four. . . . Three. . . . .Two . . . . . One. . . . .

"Gotcha!" I shouted, and tried to glide, but I was moving too fast.

"Perseus?" Artemis gasped. "What are you-"

"Trust me." I said, then spun so she was on top of me. If someone was going to hit the ground, it was gonna be me. I thought as we fell, the wind on my wings slowing our fall, but not enough. Not nearly enough.

Then the ground hit. And hit hard. I heard a crunch that was probably my wings, then a loud crack, that could have been any bone. Artemis rolled of and got up, but I couldn't move my legs.

"Artemis. I gasped out. "Get my flask. . ."

"Oh, gods! Perseus, are you all right?"

"Do I look alright? Give me my fucking flask!"

"Ok. What do I do with it?"

"Hold it to my lips and pour a big gulp in." I coughed out. There was blood on my fist.

"This smells! And you want to drink it?"

"DO IT!" I screamed, and Artemis poured it in. I took my hands and felt down my spine, until I could feel a large displacement of bones, then started healing it. But I wasn't going to get a rest, as there were monsters charging out of the trees, and the birds swooping down.

"Artemis, take Light. Use it." I choked out, rapidly losing energy from the heal. This type of injury, I'd be lucky to have paralyzed legs and not die.

"How do I–" Artemis asked, as she slid out Light, then gasped as she could feel new power enter her, the same power leaving me.

"I only need –- a minute!" I screamed again as I felt the vertebrae sliding back together and bones knitting together.

Artemis, holding Light in her right hand, swung a horizontal swing, and a ray of its namesake, light, exploded out of the blade, pushing the monsters back.

"Come on. . . ." I said, when feeling started returning to my legs, and they were twitching. "You son of a bitch, heal!"

Artemis wouldn't be able to use Light for long. I could already see her slowing down, the use of power draining her as she sent arcs of light and fire to kill the remaining Stymphalian Birds. But as they fell, the monsters started getting up again.

"Ahhh AHHH!" I screamed again as I heaved myself upright, then took a deep drink, and felt energy race through my body. It still hurt like hell, but I should be able to fight. Besides, hell wasn't that bad.

I drew Storm and Shadow, then sat back in a defensive stance, my wings now disappeared from my back. Artemis walked up beside me, and crouched down.

"Any bright ideas?" Artemis asked.

"One. But it should be a last resort. Give me Light. If you keep using it, you'll be exhausted."

"Fine." She said, and passed to me. I flipped Storm up into the air, sheathed Light, then caught Storm again.

"Show off." Artemis muttered, and turned to the horde of monsters. "How are you still standing? An arrow is one thing. A broken spine and crushed internal organs is something entirely different. How are you still fine?"

"I can fight, but I wouldn't say I'm fine. But there's a reason I landed first, not you. I could take it." I said. Then the horde arrived.

I ducked an axe, then stabbed it's owner, a Laistrygonian. Well, one down, a lot more to go. I started hacking my way through their ranks, killing any who were close enough. Once, a hole opened, and I could see Artemis. She fought with grace, practically dancing around the swords and spears, then killing the monsters effortlessly. Glad she was on my side. . . . .

Then I came across a snake in green armor who I last saw in front of the Empire State Building, just before she was hit be Chiron's arrow. Sethno or Sentho or something like that.

"I ssssee, the pathetic guardian comesss to fight me." She hissed.

"Sorry, but I don't have time to waste on you." I replied, and drew a throwing knife. Less then a second later, the blade found her throat.

"Sethno! Queen Sethno is dead!" shouted one of the other _dracaenae._ "Run!"

The few that were left all started running back to the woods. Right into their reinforcements. Or one reinforcement. A drakon.

"Any bright ideas, Artemis?" I called, hoping she could bust out some godly stuff and dissolve it.

"Sorry. We'll have to do it the old fashioned way. I'll flank. Try to live, ok?" Artemis ordered. Try to live? What kind of a pep talk was that? Then again, coming from Artemis, to a boy, that meant something.

The drakon roared at us, then spat fire at me. Thankfully, it wasn't the kind of drakon that froze you, so I still had time to draw Light. Just in time, as the fire washed over my and I charged through it, slashing the tongue.

It roared again, and I could feel the ground shake beneath my feet. With almost perfect timing, an arrow whizzed out of the trees and hit it's right eye.

"Good shot!" I yelled, then ran around it's right side, trying to keep on the drakon's new blind side.

It worked. Mostly. As it turned, it's tail struck a tree, and I heared a sound that made my blood run cold. Artemis's scream.

A silver blur flew past me, and hit a tree. She landed on a dazed heap, unconscious.

"NOO!" I yelled, and took out the Desert Eagle. I fired a round at the drakon, but the bullet just exploded harmlessly on its armored plates. So much for that plan. . . .

I ran around it, trying to keep its attention on me, not Artemis. I need some way to kill it. . . . The drakon was protecting its face now, and I had no way to make it blind in the other eye, nor any way to stab it in the mouth.

I started just cutting into the gaps between the plates with Storm and Shadow, drawing dust from the wounds. Instead of just falling to the ground, however, the dust was sucked into my blades. If I can cut the drakon enough, the Stygian Iron will just drain it's soul!

Easier said then done. Every time I got close, a clawed leg or spiked tail forced me back. I sheathed Storm and started throwing my knives, which were also Stygian Iron. Wherever one hit, the drakon would lash out, giving me an opportunity to make another cut.

Then a claw sliced my chest. I needed to end this. Quickly. Before I lost any more blood.

Line Break

Artemis's POV

Every part of me hurt. The last thing I remember was. . . oh gods! I could see Perseus still fighting the drakon, his chest ripped open. I saw as he charged, dodging the leg that sliced at him, and burying both swords up to the hilt into the drakon.

An explosion of some kind blew him backwards, and out of sight while the drakon dissolved.

"Perseus!" I did my best to call, but what came out was blood, and some kind of grunt-croak.

Soon, he limped out of the woods, favoring his right leg and holding a hand to his ribs. Perseus calmly gathered his throwing knives, retrieved Storm and Shadow. Then he came over to me.

"How bad?" Perseus panted, then saw the blood on my cloths. "That bad, then. Don't move a muscle."

Do I look like I'm in any shape to move? Perseus placed his hands on my shoulders and closed his eyes. Immediately, all my injuries were gone. Instead, they were of Perseus's body.

"What did you do!?" I yelled. Now he was going to die? I wouldn't have died in the first place!

"Transfer of *cough* injuries. Easier and faster then healing *cough* *cough*. Get back to camp. I'll *cough* be fine." he ordered, then lurched off into the woods.

Hades, no. He needs nectar and ambrosia. I ran after him, but in the dark, there was nothing to see. Defeated, I turned back to camp, and sat down in the chair. Time for me to be the one who guards the Hunt. For what was left of the night anyways. . . .

Time Skip: Three Hours.

Artemis's POV

Why isn't Perseus back yet? He should be. . . . Where is Perseus? I was thinking, then heard a crashing. My Moon Chariot was coming back, which means it's about seven now. I'm glad I pointed the chariot in the right direction before getting hit by those stupid birds. They nearly killed us both. Hades, they might have even succeeded in killing Perseus. He isn't dead, right? He was fine. . . No, he wasn't fine. I had at least a few broken ribs. His chest was ripped open and who knows what damage that explosion and the tree he landed on did. I'm amazed he could even walk back.

My chariot landed, and I sent it back to my palace on Olympus, where it would stay until night. Now, sadly, it was time to wake the Hunters.

I started with Thalia, as usual, then Pheobe, going from order of seniority. One they were all up, I gathered them together.

"Our guardian is missing. Go find him." I ordered.

"Why do we care, my lady? He's a male." Pheobe asked. Does she need a reason? I ordered her to.

"Because he's decent, for a male." I said. "And because without him, no one's going to make breakfast."

At that last statement, they all raced off. Less then fifteen minutes later, they came back.

"We can't find him, my lady." Thalia said.

"You mean you didn't look. I'm disappointed in you all. Follow me." I ordered, and followed my footsteps back to the clearing we fought in.

"Here's the drakon he killed." I said, gesturing to the armored carcess.

"You never told us he fought anything!" Morgan, an older hunter, protested.

"You should be able to figure it out. The corpse of a drakon doesn't just appear." I said. "Now, look for bloodstains."

Theyh went around the clearing until Thalia spoke up, "Here, my lady. It looks like quite a bit of ichor, with a lot more regular blood."

"That's the place. The drakon's tail hit me into this tree. After Perseus killed it, he took my injuries onto himself, since he was exhausted and couldn't heal me." I explained. "Afer that, he walked off. Look for a trail."

"Found it!" shouted Diana, at the edge of the clearing. It was a small puddle, and line leading into the forest.

"That's a lot of blood." Thalia commented as we followed it. "How badly were you injured?"

"A couple of broken ribs, maybe some internal bleeding. Perseus caught a claw, though." I explained. "Then there was an explosion that I still can't find the cause of."

Minutes later, we found a small pond. The good thing was the blood stopped here. The bad thing was there was blood in the water. Lots of blood.

"Perseus!" I called. "Perseus?"

No response.

"Any of you have some flares?" I asked. Thalia nodded, and handed one to me. I drew it back on my bow and shot it into the water, creating a big splash and light.

Seconds later, someone erupted from the water. It was Perseus, with the flare arrow sticking out of his shoulder.

"Can you please stop shooting me?" He asked. "It's becoming a habit, and I don't have much more blood to loose."

"Just pull the arrow out." I said, while thinking. I could've hit anywhere in the lake, and I hit Percy. Not Percy, Perseus.

"Can't, sorry." He replied.

"Wimp." Thalia muttered, then yanked the arrow out.

"SHIT! That was a barbed arrow!" Perseus screamed. Then fell to the ground, blood pouring from the arrow hole.

"Whoops." Thalia said.

"Whoops? That's all you're going to say?" I seethed, "We need to get him back to camp. Who knows how much damage that barb caused?"

**A/N: Chapter Thirteen down. Be sure to either read the Split-Off or do the poll on my profile. It would be very helpful. Also, should I release chapters for the Split-Off and this one at the same time, as I have been doing, or just release them as soon as I'm done? Review or PM me to say.**

**Reviews are always welcomed!**


	14. Chapter 14- A Near-Death Experience

**A/N: Sorry for the slowness of the plot. After this chapter, it'll pick up a bit. Right now, I mainly needed to put a few things in that I think should happen.**

Disclaimer: I am not Rick Riordan, I only own the OC's I made, which are free to copy off of. I also do not own anything I make references to.

Chapter Fourteen- A Near-Death Experience

Artemis's POV

"He'll be fine." Pheobe said.

"He lost a lot of blood last night." I replied, "I don't know how much he can lose now. Perseus didn't just fall unconscious 'cause it hurts."

The nine Hunters Perseus brought in picked him up and started running back to camp. I was right behind them. As soon as the camp was in sight, we took him over to the Med tent and set him down.

"Diana, get some nectar. Tricia, bandages." I ordered. The rest of his Hunters all crowded around the bed, worried.

Diana returned first with the nectar, but as I went to pour it, Perseus gasped and sat up.

"Wait!" He ordered. "Don't give me the nectar. It might kill me."

"Why?" I asked. "You need it."

"I drank too much last night. If I drink any more, I might light on fire." Perseus explained, then put his hand to his shoulder and concentrated. As I watched, the muscles that were ripped up by the barb healed, and the hole became less deep. "That's all I can do, for now."

He swung himself out of the bed we put him in, then stretched his legs.

"You got shot!" Tricia exclaimed, "You can't just get up again."

"I can. I'm mostly healed, but that doesn't take away the pain of the injuries themselves. I still have to feel them, they just won't kill me." Perseus replied "Fortunately, in the water, my ribs healed and my chest closed up. So when do we start hunting, my lady?"

I sighed. If I let him off the hook, the older Hunters wouldn't like it. I would've preferred if he hadn't brought it up.

"After breakfast." I replied. "Which you still have to make, you know."

"I know."

Line Break

Perseus's POV

When I got to the tables, the older Hunters were already sitting there, chatting. Except for Thalia, who light up when she saw me, then looked away uncomfortably.

"What now?" I sighed.

"Waffles and sausages. With orange juice." Pheobe ordered, and everybody else nodded. Well, at least summoning food in bulk was easier. . . .

Drawing on what little energy I had left, I summoned thirty one servings of waffles, sausages, and juice, then turned away, summoning a breakfast bar for myself, or more accurately, five. They were mostly carbohydrates, but I needed the fuel, since I couldn't drink any more from the hip flask for at least a day.

By the time I was done, the Hunters, Artemis included, had stopped eating, and went of to do whatever they did during the day. Artemis walked over to me, and pulled me to my feet.

"Time for you to learn to track." she said, and brought me to the edge of the camp. "Why won't you see any animal tracks here?"

"To close to noise?" I asked.

"Good enough. The rabbits and deer think we're predators, and steer around us." Artemis replied. "So to hunt them, we need to sneak up on them. But why am I explaining this? Don't you know?"

"Actually, when we were hunting those Caribou, I already knew where some were. So I kind of cheated." I explained, ducking my head.

"You won't get off that easily now." Artemis said. "Follow me."

She ran off into the forest. When I caught up to her, she was crouching next to some tracks in the snow.

"What kind of tracks would you say these are?" Artemis asked, pointing. They were small, but somewhat far apart.

"A rabbit?" I asked.

"A rabbit with a meter stride, sure." said Artemis sarcastically.

"Well, I figured it would be. . . you know. . . hopping." I explained my thinking.

"Because all rabbits can hop a meter." Artemis continued sarcastically. "Anyways, what kind of animal has relatively small feet but a large body?"

"I don't know. A big insect?" I replied. She reached across and hit me in the back of the head, shutting me up.

"No, idiot. A deer, or one of the family." Artemis said. "You need to do better then that."

"How do I do better? I don't exactly have any knowledge of hunting. And it's not like it'll be useful or anything." I protested.

"You say that again and I will kill you. I'm guessing you've followed people before? That's hunting. It's the same concept, really. See, but not be seen. Kill and not be killed. If you've followed tire tracks before, you've seen the difference between a big car and a small one. It's the same with people." Artemis explained. "Now look at it again."

"Ok." I looked at the tracks with a new pair of eyes, and set back into the familiarity of training. I could see it was small, and set far apart. Focusing in on one individual print, I could see it had there were three sections of it. Two things that looked like half circles with a little dot following each one.

"Now follow me again." Artemis ordered, then walked off to another set of tracks. One that looked like a triangle with four ovals in front of it, and a little line in front of each oval.

"What is it?" Artemis asked.

"A wolf?" I guessed

"Why is it a wolf?" Artemis continued.

"Because the paws are bigger then the deers footprint, which are better for stability in a fight. It looks like it has claws. But don't wolves have a longer stride then this?" I asked.

"Yes, they do. But it was stalking something, so it needs to step quietly. Look around, what do you notice about the tracks?" Artemis asked. I looked around, but couldn't see anything. The snow was smooth and unbroken.

"Nothing?" I replied.

"There are no other tracks. There's a big difference between one wolf and a pack. This wolf was abandoned for one reason or another." Artemis said. "You would do the same to find about how many enemies are together."

"I get it. I think." I stated uncertainly.

"You'd better. This is the easy stuff."

Line Break

Time Skip- Four Hours.

Perseus's POV

"That's it, for today." Artemis had shown me the types of tracks different animals made: Rabbits, more wolves and deer, rodents, and the like.

"Artemis, I have a favor I need to ask." I said, and Artemis turned.

"What?"

"There are three girls that I trained with in the Underworld. I request that you accept them into the Hunt."

"Do they want to?" Artemis asked. "They can only enter the Hunt willingly."

"I'll check." I replied, then ran back to the camp and into my tent, locking the flap behind myself. As I did, I had second thoughts. The Hunt clearly doesn't like me, and they'll just scorn the rest of my family. I'd better wait for a while before bringing them in. Besides, they still need to train at least a little more.

I walked out again, and ran through the list of things I still had to do in my head: Make new arrows, mend clothes, feed the animals, make baths, and sharpen the stack of knives that probably appeared.

Walking over to the Supply tent, I saw even more arrows were broken then yesterday, or even the day before.

"Those damn Hunters." I muttered, then sat down and grabbed the first of the arrows, removing the head before grabbing a shaft and three feathers. I glued it and set the arrow to dry before moving on to the next. And the next. And the next. Well, four down, several hundred to go.

Time Skip: Three Hours

Time- Around Two PM.

When I set the last arrow in the pile to let the glue dry, I turned my attention to the stack of knives.

"Shit. I really shouldn't have given the knives back. . . ." I muttered. The knife-sharpening bucket was proudly filled with at least sixteen knives.

Let's see. . . I thought, at twenty minutes per knife, about, that means, what, five hours? Five and a half?

I sighed, then picked up the first knife, running the whetstone up the blade, time and time again, while setting my Ipod to Sacrifice, by Jeff Williams.

_Close your eyes now time for dreams,  
>Death is never what it seems.<br>Did the things you thought you should,  
>All the things they said were good.<br>_

_All your faith in ancient ways,  
>Leaves you trapped inside a maze.<br>Take the lives of those you need,  
>Sow the death then reap the seed.<br>Reap the seed.  
><em>

_Born an angel, heaven sent,  
>Falls from grace are never elegant.<br>Stars will drop out of the sky,  
>The moon will sadly watch the roses die.<br>_

_In vain,  
>Lost, no gain,<br>But you're not taking me.  
><em>

_You can't have my life,  
>I'm not your sacrifice.<br>You can try, but I'm free,  
>And you won't conquer me.<br>_

_I won't crawl,  
>Most of all,<br>I won't fall,  
>For you. Show them gods and deities,<br>Blind and keep the people on their knees.  
><em>

_Pierce the sky, escape your fate.  
>The more you try the more you'll just breed hate,<br>_

_And lies.  
>Truth will rise,<br>_

_Revealed by mirrored eyes.  
>What if all the plans you made,<br>Were not worth the price they paid?  
><em>

_Even with the lives you stole,  
>Still no closer to your...<br>Goal.  
><em>

_You can't have my life.  
>I'm not your sacrifice.<br>You can try, but I'm free,  
>And you won't conquer me.<br>_

_I won't crawl,  
>Most of all,<br>I won't fall,  
>For you.<em>

Time Skip- One Hour

Time- Around Three PM.

Artemis's POV

"Perseus? You here?" I walked through the Armory tent flap, already talking. "We need you to make the baths."

Percy was sitting on an overturned bucket, sharpening a hunting knife. He looked up, and I could see weariness on his face.

"Fine. I'm coming." Percy replied, then got to his feet, groaning.

"Are you OK?" I asked. To be fair, he looked in somewhat bad shape.

"Yeah. I'd be a bit better if I _wasn't _hit by an arrow." said Perseus. I winced, then gestured outside.

"Well, you know how." I said, an implied order in my words. He concentrated, and I could hear water splashing outside. Meanwhile, Percy had gone from looking somewhat bad to gone through Tartaurus.

"You're sure you're fine?" I asked again, concerned. Percy took a few deep breaths and looked up.

"I'm fine. Now, I have about thirteen knives to sharpen, so if you wouldn't mind?" Perseus gestured to the tent flap, and I walked out. Looking back, I could see Percy slumped on the bucket, barely moving.

Oh my gods. He'll be fine, right? I thought, then reassured myself with two things: One, he probably survived worse, and two, why do I care?

Line Break

Percy's POV

I slumped down, barely conscious. Artemis left, looked back, then shook her head. After the flap shut, I fell off the bucket, still breathing, but just. For minutes, I just lay there. I couldn't even move. I couldn't even think of moving, just concentrating on staying alive.

Sadly, as I still had to concentrate on keeping the bath water in a solid shape, I couldn't even stay conscious anymore. The darkness came, and I welcomed it.

Line Break

Nico's POV

I blocked the skeleton's sword, then twisted my own, disarming it. After that, I got the feeling of a soul entering the Underworld, but a more powerful soul than I had ever felt before. So powerful, my world rocked.

"Alecto!" I shouted, and the Fury appeared beside me, bowing. After the Titan war, I had become the Prince of the Underworld, and my powers had grown by an insane amount. But this soul. . . . . it felt like an Olympian.

"Take me to Father." I ordered. She grabbed me, and started flying away, taking my to his palace. Normally, I would shadow-travel, but when traveling, you use the Underworld as a conduit from the two locations. Since I'm _in_ the Underworld, I can't travel to another place there. I can go out, but not across.

Soon enough, we arrived at the palace, and I ran inside.

"Father!" I called in the direction of his throne.

"What is it, Nico?" Hades asked, sounding somewhat less cold then normal.

"Who was that soul that just passed away?" I demanded. Hades looked away, then looked back.

"_Di immortals_!" Hades shouted, turning to me. "Go to the Hunters."

"Why?" I asked.

"Go! Now!" I did as he ordered, appearing at the edge of their camp, then felt that soul, in a tent that said 'Medical Tent' on the top.

I pushed my way inside, seeing someone who had been dead for more than four years. And was dying again. Percy Jackson.

"Nico? What are you doing here?" Thalia asked, while another Hunter had an arrow aimed at me.

"What did you do to him?" I shouted, turning.

"I don't know. We walked in because the baths suddenly disappeared, and found him there." Thalia replied, worried.

"After he summoned the baths, he looked exhausted." Artemis said, "But nothing like this."

"He wouldn't show it, if I know Percy at all." I replied, seething. They would do this to Percy fuckin' Jackson, the most powerful demigod for centuries. "What happened earlier?"

"Well, he said he couldn't drink any nectar or he'd die earlier, and the night before that, was in some fight." Thalia said.

"He smashed into the ground from maybe fifty meters up, at least, broke most of the bones in his body. After that, he healed himself and killed a drakon, almost dying again, possibly to save me. Then I might have shot him." Artemis replied.

"Idiots! All of you. He can't even drink anymore nectar, then got shot, and you think he could use his power like that? With no effect?" I seethed, then turned to Percy. "His soul is literally flickering. Dying. I'll try to keep him alive, but this only has a maybe fifteen percent chance of working."

I closed my eyes, anchoring Percy's soul to his body. I could hear his body jerking on the bed. His soul was strong, but it was fading. If his soul fades, he won't even get an afterlife. He'll just cease to be.

"C'mon, Percy." I muttered, "You're a tough son-of-a-bitch. I'm not letting you go."

As I watched, his soul started glowing, more and more powerfully, until it was blinding. Percy gasped and sat up, then fell unconscious.

"He's going to live. Hopefully." I said, turning to Artemis. "How did you find him, and what's he doing here?"

"He was assigned here as a Guardian, as if we needed one. And we found him after he might have saved the Hunt from a drakon." Artemis replied.

"The same drakon from last night?" I asked.

"No, it was three days ago. Why?" Artemis said.

"Two drakons in three days? That's not good. Even in the Titan War, there were only two, the Lydian and the Aethiopian." I responded, "If I were you, I'd be looking into that."

I started walking out, shadow-traveling back to the Underworld the minute I could. Back in the palace, Hades was still siting on his throne.

"Why didn't you tell me Percy's alive?" I demanded. Hades just shook his head.

"I just didn't have the time." replied Hades.

"I'm calling B.S. on that. What aren't you telling me?" I asked.

"Well, he did beat the whole of the the Olympians in a duel. . . ." Hades trailed off.

"All at the same time? Are you sure?" I questioned.

"I wasn't there, but that's was Apollo said."

Time Skip- Twenty One Hours

Time- Around Twelve AM

Percy's POV

'

The first thing I noticed: I felt like hell. Not like the hell I trained in, like Tartaurus level. As I blinked my eyes open, I noticed Artemis leaning on the 'wall' of the tent.

"What am I doing here?" I groaned, shaking myself awake. Huge mistake, my whole body started hurting even more, like a train hit me.

"You're awake!" Artemis exclaimed,

"What happened?" I asked.

"After you nearly killed yourself making _baths_?" She replied. "Don't _ever_ do something like that again. Come on, the other Hunters need to know you're alive."

**A/N: Merry Christmas, y'all. If none of you celebrate Christmas, then Yo Saturnalia! I'm sure your distant ancestors celebrated that. My present to all of you is adding two chapters per story. So two here, and two on the Split-Off.**

**By the way, did you like the song? I tried to make it fit the plot, again, basically saying Perseus won't be the Hunt's "sacrifice" (foreshadowing much?) See if you can find the other connections I made.**

**Reviews are always appreciated!**


	15. Chapter 15-The Warning

**A/N: Here's the second of the Christmas present chapters, hope you enjoy.**

Chapter Fifteen- The Warning

Percy's POV

"Fine." I groaned, then got to my feet. My muscles spasmed, and I fell to the floor again.

"Sorry, I might . . . . have to . . . . take a rain check . . . . . on that." I said between groans.

"Are you fine? Uninjured, I mean?" Artemis asked, concerned.

"Physically, I'm good. I nearly killed myself, which probably wasn't the smartest idea I've ever had. Added to that, I still have to feel the pain of ever injury I've had in the past few days, and when I was "dying" I have no idea what damage that might have done." I replied. "What have you done while I was asleep?"

"Well, we haven't moved. Added to that, we didn't give you any nectar or ambrosia since you said that might kill you." Artemis said.

"Good." I replied. Holding out my hand, I transported something from the Underworld into my hand. My own mix of mortal pain-killers and godly stuff, it was a syringe filled with a clear liquid, unremarkable at a look.

"What's that?" asked Artemis.

"This is an insanely strong type of anesthetic. I created while trying to make the goop that I drink in place of meals. It will numb my body, erase the pain I'm feeling to a certain extent. At least, I might be able to move." I replied, stabbing it into a vein in my armpit. "I kept it after I discovered healing doesn't take that pain itself away. Even still, I only use it in times like these, when I can't move. Any less injured then that, I won't let myself. If I get addicted to this, I'll be dead within a day. It's that strong."

"Why don't you just give it to the gods? They could make good use of it." questioned Artemis.

"I would sooner give it to mortals. No god has ever experienced enough pain to use this. At least with mortals, they'll die from an overdose. With gods, much worse could happen." I explained. If the gods got their hands on this, I would have to get it back. Whatever it takes.

I felt the drug work it's way through me system. I diluted it enough to _not_ turn me into a vegetable, and enough to make me still feel the majority of the pain, just now I could move around. Climbing to my feet, I looked at Artemis.

"You'd better not tell the gods about that." I said. She shook her head, and I walked outside, where the Hunters were all fighting with each other. Currently, Thalia was fighting Pheobe near the center of the field, and it was a close match. Neither of them could come even close to scratching Saracen or Arin, but they might be able to give Gwen a close fight for a minute or two.

As I watched, Thalia disarmed Pheobe and held her spear to Pheobe's chest.

"Thalia wins again." Artemis spoke from beside me. "That makes the score equal again."

"What was it that you said about them needing to know I'm alive?" I said, reminding her of what she was doing here. Just then, however, a bolt of lightning cracked across the sky.

"That would be Zeus calling a council. I need to go." Artemis flashed away, leaving me here.

Line Break

Artemis's POV

"What is this I hear about you nearly killing Perseus?" Poseidon shouted, rage in his eyes.

"Well, I asked him to summon baths for the Hunters and he fell unconscious after that. Then he woke up." I replied.

"That doesn't sound like what Hades and Nico told us. It had better be the truth." Zeus threatened. "Do you have anything to add?"

"He might have fallen unconscious earlier that day. . . " I trailed off.

"I thought so. If anything like this happens again, I will personally disband the Hunt." Poseidon threatened.

"And I will help him while he does." Zeus said, killing my last hope.

"You can't just-" I protested.

"We can and we will. You nearly killed the most powerful demigod in centuries. Who personally saved Olympus, saved _you_!" Poseidon shouted,"So if I ever hear the _tiniest_ rumor that something like this has happened _again_, you will be without the Hunt faster than you can blink!"

"Fine." I muttered, then flashed away.

Line Break

Percy's POV

"Hey, you're awake." Thalia said, walking up to me.

"Yeah, I am. Thanks for noticing." I dryly replied.

"Want a fight?" she asked.

"Are you sure? I _did_ beat Artemis." I responded to her question.

"Just don't use the ninja swords, the other swords or anything else." Thalia clarified.

"So basically only Riptide? How much do you want my to hold back?" I questioned.

"Water Boy, in all the years you knew me, did you ever need to hold back, as you put it?" Thalia asked the rhetorical question, and I took that as an answer.

I crouched slightly, and held my hands in front, bracing. I didn't draw Riptide, 'cause if I did, I might kill her. That would be somewhat regrettable. Only somewhat, though.

Surprisingly, Thalia stayed back, waiting for me to make the first move. I didn't disappoint. After a few seconds watching her stance, I lunged forward. My shoe caught the rim of her shield, Aegis, and ripped it aside. Then I used the momentum of the kick to spin around and use my other boot to kick her in the nose. While Thalia reeled back, I grabbed her spear, thankfully not electric like Clarisse's. Twisting the spear, I forced it behind her back, breaking her arm. I used my other hand to grab it and pull, breaking her fingers and giving me the spear. Turning it so the point was at her throat, I whispered a few words in her ear.

"I am not the Percy you knew. Also, why was it that Artemis was there when I woke up, not you?"

I pushed Thalia away, then healed her broken arm and fingers, feeling the familiar tingle in my own. How healing actually works is the injuries are transferred to my body, a little at a time, then healed. Unlike with my own, I don't feel the pain of other peoples injuries, they just were erased.

"Are you OK?" I asked Thalia as she got back up, shocked.

"I think so?" Thalia responded, pretending what I said to her didn't happen, "I thought I could last more than a few seconds against you, though."

"You can't. Next time, ask me to hold back so I don't have to do _that_ again." I said.

I turned and walk off into the Armory tent, where there were still quite a few knives for me to sharpen. In fact, there were still the thirteen knives that I didn't sharpen before.

I sighed and picked up the first knife, then I saw a flash of light as Artemis appeared beside me. Before I could even register that, I was up against the tent wall with another hunting knife against my throat. My instincts cut in and I grabbed her arm, breaking it as I twisted the knife away. Holding it by the flat of the blade, I yanked the knife from her grip and backed up.

"Oh. Sorry Artemis." I said, too tired to make a good apology. "I would suggest that you don't try that in the future. If I didn't recognize you, I might have slit your throat."

Frankly, I was surprised I got the knife that easily. Artemis probably didn't expect me to do that, but, then again, I didn't expect her to be holding a blade to my throat.

"Noted, boy." Artemis said coldly, "Now, heal my arm, and get back to sharpening. You make lunch in thirty minutes."

What's she so angry about? Something happened at the council? Pushing those thoughts out of my head, I grabbed the first dull knife and the whetstone. I started running the whetstone up the blade, my mind wandering away.

How is my family doing in the Underworld? Why did two drakons appear in two or three days? What's with the groups of monsters? How is Martin doing at Camp Half-Blood? How is Austin doing at Camp Jupiter? The explanation that fit the best, monster wise, was that another enemy was rising. It wouldn't be the giants, we would sense something like that. Typhon was is Tartaurus. The remaining Titans were in hiding? Were they? There were only, what, three defeated in Manhattan and 'Frisco? Krios, Kronos, and Hyperion? Pallas, Persus, Oceanus, Tethys, Coeus, Theia. . . A whole crap-ton in other words. If the Titans are massing again, it'll be bad.

I barely noticed as my hands dropped one knife and picked up another. If the other twenty or so Titans attacked, it could potentially destroy "Western Civilization" This time, Typhon was gone, but that doesn't mean much. There are still other, older monsters that are just as bad.

If they attack New York, I'll have to stop them. That's even if they exist. I need to find more, but I can't exactly just leave the Hunters, and Artemis isn't likely ro talk to me any time soon. Fortunatly, I had some friends.

I took out a drachma and summoned a rainbow of water.

"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Saracen, in the Underworld."

"Saracen!" I shouted. Currently, she was fighting Arin and Gwen, scythe on sword and spear.

"Hey! Bram, how are you? And where?" Gwen asked, running up.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. Right now, I'm at the Hunter's camp. After I went to Olympus, Zeus made me Guardian of the Hunt." I replied, watching there faces.

"How did that happen? And why did you accept?" questioned Arin.

"After II beat the gods in a duel, they said I had to swear myself to a god or goddess, else they would keep hunting me. As I recall, Aphrodite was looking particularly eager, but I chose Artemis. I could actually do something useful there." I started, " And I would say I didn't have a choice to do as the gods said, but we all know that would be a lie. When the next war comes, we'll need to have as strong of a Hunt as possible. They, aside from us, are the most effective fighters in Western Civilization."

Then it was Saracen's turn, "Good enough. Why contact us now? You aren't the type to make social calls."

"Very good. I need you to start an investigation. Look into the possibility of the Titans massing, or the Giant War starting again. If you can, try to delay either of them." I ordered.

"Got it. Any idea where we should start?" Saracen asked.

"You know where Mount Othryus is?" Of course they do, "If you near where Titan might be, you should get the same feeling, see the same type of designs. Now I need to go."

I cut the connection as I heard someone approaching. It was Tricia.

"Percy?" Tricia asked, "Artemis wants you to make lunch."

"What for lunch?" I replied.

"Sandwiches and apples." Tricia ordered. I closed my eyes and concentrated, feeling the familiar tugging in my gut.

"All ready. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I still have many more knives to sharpen." I gestured to the door, but Tricia just stood there.

"How did that many knives get _that_ dull? All of us and the younger Hunters that we train with have their knives." Tricia said, looking at the bucket of dull knives.

"Good to know, but even still, I have to do these, and you need to eat." After she left, I kept thinking about Saracen and the task I set my family to.

Could they survive a run-in with a Titan? Yeah. Two? Maybe. Three? No. Never. What if I just got them killed. What then? What would I do in the time I have left? Find other people?

Another knife dropped, sharp now. As it hit the floor, I shook myself out of my thoughts. Saracen and the others'll live. There well trained, well armed. They know what to do.

I lost myself in my thoughts again, and time was passing.

Time Skip- Five Hours, Forty Minutes.

Time- Around Six PM

When I tried to grab the next knife in the bucket, there were none left, and on the other side of the bucket I was sitting on was a pile of neatly sharpened knives. My hand was clenched around the whetstone for so long, it actually hurt to put the stone down. In those hours, the pain-killer I took earlier gradually wore off until I got used to the pain,

I walked out the tent flap and ran into Thalia.

"Artemis sent me to order you to make dinner." she said.

"Fine. What do you guys want?" I asked.

"Don't know. Come on." Thalia motioned to the tables.

When we arrived, the Hunt was all sitting down, Artemis included.

"So, what'll it be?" I sighed.

Artemis looked up, "Steak."

I summoned steak, mashed potatoes and gravy for all of them, then turned away before another word could be spoken. As I walked back to my tent, where my weapons were after I nearly died, I fell into a pit.

And not just any pit. This one was lined with spikes, sharpened and pointed upwards. I couldn't stop myself, and was stabbed across my arms, legs, and stomach. It was pure luck neither of my eyes were popped, but even still, it hurt like hell. I briefly lit myself on fire to burn all the spikes to ash, then just lay there, healing my wounds. The pain would go away in a day or so, but I wasn't worried about that. If I was unconscious for almost a day, anyone could have stolen the flash drive, and I'd have no idea.

Inside the tent, the picture was in the same place, untouched. The flash drive was still there, too. In fact, everything was how I left it, excluding the pile of swords, knives, and a pistol on the floor. I put them all in their appropriate places: Storm and Shadow on my belt, Light and Darkness on my back, the hunting knives behind Storm and Shadow, the throwing knives on my shoulders and thigh sheaths. Lastly, the Desert Eagle went on my other thigh. Riptide, of course, never left my pocket.

Now I was ready to go back. I felt a lot safer with my weapons, all around thirty pounds of them. Drawing each one, I could see they were all in perfect condition. Good. The Hunters can mess with there own stuff, and make me fix it. But_ no one_ ever messes with my stuff.

**A/N: Sorry for the somewhat abrupt ending. Surprisingly, swords only weigh like, three or four pounds each. Remember the Split-Off, I could really use your feedback on it.**

**Reviews are always welcome!**


	16. Chapter 16- Memories

**A/N: Hi guys, I'm back. I managed to re-write these two chapters, meaning this, and the Split-Off one. Added to that, I've now made two back-up flash drives and saved it on the computer itself. Hopefully, I'll always have one. Oh, and the ending of this chapter wasn't my own to begin with, but I tried to bend it a little to make it different.**

Chapter 16- Memories

Time Skip- One and a Half Months

Percy's POV

How long has it been? Forty days? Fifty? Fifty days of being almost killed by the Hunters, time and time again. I don't know how much longer I'll last without snapping. When I do, it'll be bad. I don't even know if I could limit myself when I do, or indiscriminately kill everyone around me.

Time to keep "learning" to Hunt with Artemis. It would be more manageable if I didn't also have to deal with the traps the Hunters set. Right now, though, it was impossible.

Whatever. At least when I was with Artemis, the Hunters wouldn't shoot blunt arrows at- shit.

Those damn Hunters caught my left leg in some kind trap- A loop of rope around my foot, attached to a stake going deep underground.

I heard a whizzing sound, like a rope whipping through the air, and saw something that absolutely terrified me. A small log, attached to a string was swinging down. Before I could duck, it smacked my chest, knocking me backwards as another log, behind me, crunched into my back.

"AHHHHH!" I screamed. Those damn Hunters! That broke at least a few a ribs. At least they hit at different times. If they hit me at the same time, it might have crushed my heart.

Groaning, I cut the rope holding my foot, and held my hands to my ribs. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I healed them. The pain didn't go away, of course, but now I should be able to breathe and walk.

Line Break

Percy's POV

"Start looking." Artemis ordered, her voice icy. Whatever happened, what, a month ago? More? Anyways, whatever happened to her sucked out any ounce of kindness she had for me.

I sighed, and started walking in a swirl away from where she was, looking for deer tracks. Then I came upon tracks like no others. It looked like two wavy lines in the snow, like two giant snakes. . . Wait. Dracaenae. I whistled, and Artemis walked over.

"Dracaenae, I'm pretty sure." I said.

"Then let's go greet them." Artemis replied. Artemis went to the left on the track, while I went to the right. We both started running, our bows unslung. Being a god, Artemis could exchange her hunting bow for one that shot broadheads. I, on the other hand, would have to hit the throat or eyes to kill a monster.

Just minutes later, we arrived at a medium sized encampment of dracanae.

"On three, you start at the right." Artemis whispered, "One. . . . two. . . . three!"

We both started shooting at the same time. The furthest right monster caught an arrow in the throat, and two seconds later, so did the one next to him. Artemis was shooting the dracaenae from left to right, and I was shooting from right to left. In short order, the remaining monsters turned to dust. None of them got close to us, even when they charged.

"I think I can call it a day now." Artemis said, turning around and heading back to the Hunter's camp. I, however, stayed behind. Monsters, like the dracaenae, aren't known to be smart, and needed directions to tell them what to do.

I poked around the piles of armor left by the monsters when we returned them to Tartaurus. In one set, that looked more decorated then the rest, I found a sheet of papers labeled "orders".

It said, "Keep track of the Hunt. If anything happens, message for Coeus at _ Tower in San Fransisco."

The word before "Tower" was smudged beyond reading, so I tucked it away, and took out a drachma.

"Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Saracen." I called, throwing the drachma into a rainbow I summoned out of water. Saracen's face popped up in a hotel room.

"Percy! How are you?" I could hear Gwen say in the background.

"Good enough." I said, "But I got instructions off of a dracaenae saying to contact Coeus at a Tower in San Fransisco. Tower was capitilized, but I couldn't read the word before it."

Saracen nodded, "We're on it. Gwen?"

They all disappeared as Gwen used her fire to teleport, much like I do. The difference is that Gwen will get exhausted from doing it, and it's shorter range then my own teleporting.

Breaking the Iris Message, I turned around and sprinted back to camp. What's that smell? Are they cooking something?

Line Break

Percy's POV

I saw a column of smoke rising from the camp, and ran too it. The Hunters were standing in a ring around something burning. . . . is that? THAT"S MY TENT!

Running forward, I broke through the line of Hunters and into my flame-engulfed tent. The fire was everywhere, burning the walls and the bed, including what I was looking for. The picture with my flash drive attached to the back of it crumbled to ash as I lunged forward. The drive tumbled into the heart of the flame.

"NOOOO!" I screamed. HOW COULD THEY DO THIS? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?

My vision turned red, and I lunged out of the tent, drawing Storm and Shadow. If they did this, I am going to kill every last Hunter I could find. Then stab Artemis a few times for good measure.

Pheobe was in front of me, and tried to draw a sword. Before she could, I smacked it out of her hand, and slashed, cutting her chest open. Turning, I knocked aside Thalia's spear, then she received the same treatment.

I was tearing through the Hunters, smashing aside all defenses and leaving them with gaping wounds. It felt. . . _amazing_. There blood was soaking into my cloths, staining them red.

And Artemis was in front of me, grabbing my shirt and flashing up to Olympus. She shoved me back, then kicked my chest, hurling me into the front of Dionysus's throne.

Having a little time, she shot an arrow into the sky, calling a council. Standing, I drew my Desert Eagle, and held it to her head. Inside my mind, two voices were shouting at each other in a vicious internal debate.

_Don't do it, Percy._

_Do it! She didn't care that the Hunters were killing me._

_She probably didn't know!_

_She could've seen me! She would've figured it out! But she didn't know!_

_If you kill her, what will you do? If the Titans are massing, you'll need her._

_I'll need the Hunt! I didn't kill any of them!_

_And how will you escape the gods?_

_I've done that before! I'm this close to killing all of them!_

_Why do you want to kill Artemis?_

_She's just ignored me and let me be the Hunt's punching bag._

_That doesn't seem like a good enough reason to kill her. Hear her out first. She could've shot you there, instead she called the gods. Even now, she isn't trying to disarm you._

_Fine._

In a sudden movement, I put my pistol back in it's holster and my vision un-tunneled. The gods were all sitting there, staring at me.

Line Break

Artemis's POV

After Perseus sheathed his gun, I quickly grew to my godly height and sat in my throne. Something was wrong with Percy. He looked like an animal, like he went insane.

"Perseus? What are you doing, my son?" Poseidon asked carefully. Percy's eyes looked like they were on fire, his face looked vicious. No god wanted to risk angering him. I didn't either.

As I watched, he breathed heavily, and his face returned to more or less normal. He was still covered in my Hunter's blood.

"I was about to kill Artemis as you could see. Her idiot Hunters destroyed something so valuable I wanted to kill her." Perseus said calmly, not worried in the slightest.

"What? What could be so precious that you would kill an Olympian for revenge?" Zeus asked, outraged.

"Something valuable enough that I dealt lasting injuries to most of the Hunt before Artemis could grab me and flash us up here." Perseus responded, still not worried. That either took a lot of guts or knowledge that you could say something like that and were powerful enough to fear the wrath of the gods. I was beginning to think it was the latter.

"Whatever it was, his actions against the Hunt were somewhat justified. He may have been a little extreme, but he was no in his right mind." Hestia said, "Just days before now, he had hope for the future, and a spot in the Hearth with the Hunters. Now, he has neither. Most people who have been like that has committed suicide to my knowledge."

"What?" Poseidon demanded, glaring at me, "What did you to to my son that would make him kill himself?"

"Nothing!" I protested.

Perseus slowly chuckled, and summoned a mist screen beside himself. "Hestia, could you show exactly what the Hunt has done to me over the past fifty or so days?"

Hestia nodded, and I could see memories of Perseus falling into pits lined with spikes, being caught in bear traps, being shot with blunt arrows. Highlighted among them were the two times I shot him with arrows, and Thalia ripping the barbed arrow out.

"When did this happen?" I asked desperately. When _did_ this happen? I never told the Hunt to do anything to him.

"Then you truly didn't know?" Perseus said, looking surprised. The screen was still showing all of the times the Hunt injured him or trapped him.

"I did not." I replied.

"Then I'm glad I didn't kill you." Perseus said.

The last image appeared. I could see Perseus's tent burning. He was running inside, lunging at a picture just as in crumbled into ash, something behind it falling into the fire. Right after that, his memories were red and chaotic. He was fighting the Hunt, dodging arrows and dealing injuries to most of the Hunt. There were nine of them who were unscathed. Nine of the youngest Hunters.

What made those nine special? Why spare them? He was almost surgically precise not to miss any other Hunters.

"Brother, now we _must_ disband the Hunt for this atrocity!" Poseidon demanded.

"But-" I protested.

"No, Artemis! You knew what would become of this." Zeus boomed, standing up. He started speaking the words required to re-write the Ancient Laws and destroy the Hunt. Is this how my life, everything I worked for, will be gone?

"Stop!" Perseus shouted.

"Perseus? You do not want to disband the Hunt?" Zeus asked disbelievingly. I looked at Perseus, hope filling my eyes.

Line Break

Percy's POV

"Believe me, I want that more than anyone else." I said slowly, "But it wouldn't be fair to Artemis. Let them experience my memories, live the life I lived, then have a week to find me. At least then they have a chance, and see what it took to break me, what no one has managed before."

I just couldn't let myself crush Artemis like that, no matter how much I wanted to. Besides, I would've wanted a second chance if the shoe was on the other foot.

Just then, an idea came to me. Artemis may have seen what happened in the Hunt, but that was just an image.

"Another thing. If they find me, they should experience my memories of being in the Hunt." I said.

"Very well." Zeus said. Hera came up to me, but before she took my memories, I snuck a few messages in, one for each Hunter.

"I would like to do the honors, husband. Perseus here was the example of a part of a perfect family, and Artemis destroyed that." Hera spoke up for the first time.

"Then go."

I nodded and teleported away. I wasn't going to make this easy for them.

Line Break

Morgana's POV

"Now sit down and face me." Hera ordered. Strangely, even my lady followed her order without question.

"As part of your punishment, you have to experience all of Perseus's memories from the end of the Titan War, then hunt him down and find him. You will not remember anything that would help you find him,, but it will have the same effect." Hera continued, "As for the rest of your punishment. If you fail to find Perseus in one weeks' time, we will disband the Hunt. If you do, you have to experience all the tortures you heaped upon Perseus."

This last comment was met with angry muttering, but no one spoke up.

"Good." Hera said, "Then let us begin. Once you get to a point where you would snap like Perseus did, I will remove you from his memories."

My vision turned black and I did my best to prepare myself. It won't be easy, but these were a _male's_ memories.

Suddenly, I was standing over a young man with blond hair, who had a bronze dagger in his hand. The name suddenly came to me. Luke Castellan. How did I know that? I've never seen him before.

The gods rushed into the throne room, and gave rewards to all of us who fought the Titans. All the while, I was grieving for those who died. Beckendorf. Silena. Castor. Daedulus. Names that I didn't know, yet each one felt like a knife stabbed into my heart.

Then came an explosion of rage and betrayal.

"HOW COULD SHE DO THIS? WHY?" I was screaming to myself.

I drew Riptide from it's pen form, and raced to the Athena Cabin, breaking down the door. As I was about to stab Annabeth, my vision turned black again.

I was on a flat plain, with solid brownish-white rock beneath me. The sky was black, there were no stars, but somehow there was light. Perseus appeared out of the darkness and walked up to me.

"Only three days. Pathetic. Three days of over four years." He said, increasing the guilt I felt at just standing by and doing nothing, "But I do not believe you were behind any of the "pranks" so I only slightly blame you."

My vision turned black again, and I opened my eyes to see Hera standing before me. It looked like seven or more other Hunters also woke up.

"You snapped at Annabeth's betrayal, when Perseus found out Annabeth had been cheating on him for more than a year. In return, Annabeth turned the camp against him. His only option was to leave." Hera said, "After which, he finds another home, where one of his closest friends gets killed, and he is again betrayed by people he thought were honorable. So, needing comfort, he returned to his mother and surrogate father in New York, only to discover they had been murdered by servants of Kronos. He traveled to the Underworld, where he spent four years training, mostly alone, trying to find something else to live for. Four years of worrying about the friends he has left, and trying to make sure they did not meet the same fate as the others. He emerges from the Underworld, saves all of you, and the rest you know."

If that was only one betrayal out of a lot of them. . . .wow. The Fates have really screwed up his life.

Line Break

Pheobe's POV

Ha! He's just another ignorant pig. I have lived for centuries. What could he have possibly done to compare to that?

I'll just walk through his memories, find him, and kill him. He's just like any other male. Nothing good ever comes from having a boy with us. The last time he was here, his stupidity got Artemis kidnapped. Then those campers gave me a shirt soaked in centaur blood so he could take my place!

If it wasn't for him, Zoe and Bianca would be alive, Artemis wouldn't have been forced to hold up the sky, and the Hunt would be strong.

I was standing over the body of Luke Castellan, who looked exactly like Thalia described him. I didn't feel satisfaction from finally killing him after he had killed so many others. I just felt. . . empty. Like he shouldn't have died. Like it wasn't his fault.

The days passed by, devoid of any emotion, until I saw something when I was looking at Annabeth. She cheated on me? Why? What have I ever done?

Then came Clarisse kicking in my door. After I explained to them what happened, I ran away, going across the continent.

Wait a second. There's another camp? With Romans? I found another friend, another group of friends in Jason, Dakota, Gwen, and Sylvia.

Then another explosion of pain and hatred as Gwen was stabbed, followed by a sense of satisfaction as I almost turned Octavian insane. Her death may have hurt, but it was nothing like when Zoe died. She was like a sister to me. . . .

I saw myself cross America again, back to New York City. What could possibly go wrong now? It's not like- NOOO!

MOM! You can't be dead. Please don't be dead. You just can't. . . . . YOU MONSTERS! I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!

I tore through the monsters, cutting them all down like grass. I was covered in monster dust by the time I finished, and descended into the Underworld.

And it started. Day after day of loneliness, emptiness, worry for friends left behind. Every day, looking for something, looking for hope. Finding nothing. Just more training, more pain, more suffering.

I could feel myself changing into a different person, at least Perseus was. Someone whose foundations lied on protecting three other people: Arin, Gwen and Saracen. But most important was one: Saracen.

I couldn't get close to them, since if one of them dies, I didn't want to be hurt like that again. Four years of hell. In hell.

And one day, something broke inside of me. I had no hope for the future, no goals to achieve, no ambition. I was just an empty person. Then darkness fell over my vision again.

Perseus walked out of it, and up to me.

"Pheobe. You made it about three and a half years out of the four. You didn't get to the time I thought Saracen was dead, which was the next major happening. I believe you were behind most of the tortures the Hunters heaped now." His eyes seemed to pierce mine, looking at something inside, "I understand you want to blame my for Zoe's death and Artemis's imprisonment. I blame myself for that. But you have to move on. Getting vengeance for Zoe's death is not something you can do forever. You dishonor her memory by blaming me. If you can find me, I can take you to see her again."

"You can't move forward unless you cut your ties to the past. Let Zoe go. When my mother, father, and most of my friends died, I did much the same thing. I lashed out, killing every monster I saw." His green eyes grew clouded now, remembering the past, "At the end of the day, I still had nothing. Nothing was gained by killing those monsters. I didn't feel better. They didn't somehow come back to life. My own life just kept on going. Believe me, no one blames themselves more then I do. But I've learned to let go. To move on. The more you look into the past, the less you can concentrate on the present. I believe there's a war coming. We will all need you."

Line Break

Pheobe's POV

My eyes opened into the real world, with Hera standing over me.

"You did better than most. Save for those last six months, you almost made it. Have you learned your lesson? Have you seen what it would take to break Perseus? After all that he had been through?" Hera asked. I nodded, then she gestured off to the side, "The other Hunters are over there."

The rest of the Hunt had formed their chairs around what looked like the last two people still in Percy's memories: Thalia and my lady herself.

When I approached them, however, they started glaring at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"What's wrong?" One of them asked sarcastically, "After what you did to Percy, you ask what's wrong? Just go away!"

Now how can I convince them that I don't want to hurt him any more? I walked over again, and started talking, "Listen, I don't want to -"

"Shut up!" said another one, "If you really want to make it up, you'd better find Percy."

Thalia's POV

Well, I'm fucked. If Percy went insane back there, it would've taken something insane to make that happen. Especially if he lived in the Underworld for four years. Who the hell could stay there _four years_? Four frickin' years! How was I supposed to live through that?

I guess I at least owe it to Percy. If I can't, then I'll have let him down more then I already have. All of a sudden, my sight darkened, and I steeled myself for what I knew was gonna hurt.

Line Break

When I saw Luke's body on the floor, I felt a savage pleasure. Just someone telling me he died wasn't enough. Then I was shocked by the regret and sorrow Percy must've been feeling. I saw him just walk away, wrapped up in his feelings.

I was happy when Percy and Annabeth finally kissed, I mean, _come on_. You two were so cute together. Even though I knew Annabeth would dump him, it still felt good, for a while. Percy was also feeling good, until two days later.

That bitch! How could she do this? I mean, dumping someone is one thing, cheating on them in a crap-ton worse, but turning the _whole camp_ against him? How could she? I ran out of the Poseidon Cabin, and was about to break into the Athena Cabin, but I changed my mind. I still can't kill her. Not yet.

When I find Percy, I'm going to go to Camp Half-Blood. And I'm gonna ram those books she reads right down her throat. Twice.

Percy, and I by extension, were devastated. I felt like my home was gone, destroyed. Betrayed by the people who I thought were my friends. So I ran. Far away, as fast as I could, taking a taxi all the way to California.

There's a Roman Camp? Why didn't Percy tell me? Before I could think much, another explosion rocked my world.

_Gwen was dead._ My best, and pretty much only friend, was killed by some slimy politician. Why? What did she do to deserve this? The Fates were really screwing with my- _his_- life.

I needed my family. People I know who wouldn't leave me, betray me. People I know love me.

NO! Please ma, don't be dead, you can't be dead, you just can't be dead, why are you dead? You're just sleeping right? NOOOO! YOU WILL ALL DIE!

My visions turned red as I hacked my way through the monsters, leaving none alive. All of them were left as piles of dust, victim to Riptide.

I ran away again, away from the place I used to call home, into a new home. The dark depths of the Underworld welcomes me, the screams of the sorrow and pain resonating within me. Every day was the same, training without pause. Spirits didn't sleep, so neither did I. Spending hours straight fighting skeletons, slaying hellhounds in the fields of punishment.

In one of my forays there, I came across Daedalus, who was planning more entrances into Asphodel. After a few words, I convinced him to invent a set of wings that weren't flimsy, and he set to work. Two months later, they were done, and my training took another direction.

At the end of each day, I would remember everything I left behind, and I realized I only really left two people. Nico and Thalia. Everyone else could be dead for all I care. After that, I would go to the edge of the Styx, deciding if I would kill myself each night. Each night, I decided not to. I would live another painful day. Another day of living in hell. I re-built who I was. No past loyalties, no compassion to anyone. My life was my own.

Complete solitude began to wear in on me. No human contact, no one to draw comfort from, no one to remind my of what it was like upstairs. Until a year passed in the Underworld.

Saracen Rue, abandoned by her godly mother and mortal father, left in an orphanage. Another outcast, another survivor. Another person who went with me to the Styx, and gave me reasons not to fall in. I probably would not be alive today if it wasn't for her.

Another year past. Arin joined us in our solitude, training and fighting. Hoping for a better future. Then Gwen entered all of our lives. So much like she was before, but younger. Brighter, like a little sister to us all. Then again, she can summon fire, so bright in a good way to describe her.

By then, another year had passed. I was on the fourth year. And Saracen died. She was stopping a quest that was looking for me, and we hadn't heard back. No contact for almost a month, and I was ready to throw myself into the Styx again. Again, it was my fault someone I cared about died. If I hadn't let her go, she would be alive, next to me. I could've stopped this! I could've done something.

I lashed out with my blades and powers. A red haze surrounded me. Gwen was trying to keep my fire at bay while Arin was fighting me. The last thing I saw was Gwen being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of fire surrounding her.

Line Break

"Thalia, you are the Lieutenant of the Hunt. I know you didn't like what Pheobe and the rest did to me. I could see it, as clear as day." Percy said, "But Pheobe isn't the Lieutenant. You are. You are the leader, when Artemis isn't there. If you don't like something, you have the power to stop it. The younger Hunters idolize you, the older Hunters respect you. They follow you, their leader. So go out and lead! Don't knuckled under to Pheobe if you don't want to. But if you did want this to happen to me. . . . well, I have defeated Artemis before. I don't think the rest of the Hunt will pose much of a problem, either."

I opened my eyes to see Hera leaning over me.

"You were on the fourth year, when Perseus thought Saracen was dead. You, of course, knew better, as you were chasing her. The explosive arrow tore apart her pack, didn't let her contact Perseus. That was one of the closest times he came to committing suicide. Even you, Thalia, the person he used to count as a friend failed. Now, it is only Artemis." Hera gestured to Artemis, who was still sitting down. Almost a minute later, she too gasped and sat up.

Hera walked over and started talking to her, too.

"Ha! Even you, Artemis, a god, was defeated by the memories of what you call a male. A male endured enough suffering to make even you snap. Pathetic. And you call all men ignorant pigs, and think all women are superior. I do hope you have learned something, even though Perseus is. . . unique among men."

Artemis ignored her and turned to the gathered Hunters, "Now anyone who wants to help me find Percy, yell aye! Any who don't, whimper nay, and get out of the Hunt."

She was met with a chorus of ayes, even from Pheobe, and we all set out with one goal in mind: Find Percy Jackson.

**A/N: The** **memory thing was really confusing to write, and probably to read, too. So here's my explanation of how it works: The Hunters, and Artemis have to live through Percy's memories (ignore the fact that they are different genders, I couldn't come up with a good thing for that. Calling a guy "Annabeth" doesn't work, if I'm just going to change Annabeth's gender.) Anyways, the Hunter's own emotions and feeling are somewhat muted by Hera (Allowing them to be influenced by Percy's emotions). They can still think their own thoughts, like they don't necessarily think what Percy was thinking, but they were exposed to the same emotions and the same situations, so the end result is mostly similar. As some of you might have noticed, at the beginning, the Hunt think of themselves as not Percy in the memory, but as the memory goes on, they start thinking the experience in their own.**


End file.
